Infinite DC - The Man of Tomorrow
by J.A.Phillips
Summary: AU. Superman must contend with a threat that is clearly out to get him, creating a liquidized Kryptonite meant to kill him. Can he learn who is responsible and stop them? Meanwhile, a young man who idolizes The Last Son of Krypton finds himself thrown into the mix and pays a terrible price. Is he a victim, or a hero?
1. In Panic of Plasmus!

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

"...Seriously?"

Clark Kent couldn't help but grin a little. Even when she was critiquing his work, it was always comforting to know that the most beautiful, brilliant, and strong-willed woman in the entire world was peering over his shoulder. On top of that, while he knew it was likely inherently wrong to feel this way, there was something about testing wills against her that he found enjoyable.

Sure enough, turning around to face her, there she was. Long dark hair flowing past her shoulders. Just the right amount of make-up that she wasn't overdoing it. A violet and black office dress. Black high-heels that he had heard other women at the Daily Planet say were to die for. But beyond all that, the mind, heart, and soul that made up the love of his life: Lois Lane. And, as per the norm when they were in the offices of Metropolis' #1 source of news coverage, she was here to contend with him.

_En garde_, Clark thought as Lois pointed a finger at his computer screen.

"THIS is the best news you could find to report on?" Lois asked, fighting the urge to snicker.

"Well, you've got all the best Superman stories as of late," Clark replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "And there's not much else to report on. Lex Luthor is behind bars, there haven't been any alien invasions in a while..."

And frankly, Clark couldn't be happier. Ever since Lex Luthor had lost his presidency and been put behind bars, things had been relatively quiet. Oh sure, a burning building here, a bank robbery there, even a terrorist that was foolish enough to try something in METROPOLIS, of all places, but as time was going by, there were less and less situations that came up that looked like a job for Superman.

"I know, but honestly, the new shopping centre?" Lois inquired, unable to stop herself from letting out a small laugh.

"Well, people have really been hyping it," Clark noted.

Lois folded her arms, smirking. "And by 'people', I assume you mean your cousin?"

Clark sighed, fidgeting with his glasses, something he only did when he was annoyed or embarrassed...or, in this case, both. "...Well, it's one of two things she'll ever talk about at the dinner table."

"Boys?" Lois guessed.

"Honestly, I wish," Clark grumbled. "No, it's about that company she wants to get started. I keep telling her it's a bad idea, but-"

"Now, why is that, hmm?" Lois prodded. "Don't tell me the man who voted for a woman in the oval office suddenly thinks a woman can't run her own business?"

Clark had to fight the urge to huff at Lois, teasingly or not, playing the gender card. After all, yes, he had voted for her. Even though she used to run an organization that worked to prepare for a situation where he'd need to be brought down. Even though she used to work with Lex Luthor. Even though a certain someone he knew told him it was a bad idea. He still voted for Amanda Waller. After all, she DID help to stop Luthor, and saw to it that he was put in the most secure cell that money could buy. And even when she did terrible things, she honestly did them because she felt she had to, for the American people. So, no, it was not because his cousin was a woman. It was because she was something else that could conflict a LOT with running a business.

"No, I just don't think SHE can run her own business at the same time as doing the _**OTHER**_ thing she does," Clark whispered.

Lois simply shrugged. "Bruce Wayne does it."

"Yes, and one day it's going to be a problem for him too," Clark retorted, "assuming it isn't already. I'm telling you, that man can be-"

"_**GREAT CAESER'S GHOST!**_"

"Think news just popped up, Smallville," Lois muttered under her breath as Perry White's door was flung open.

"Reports coming in from down-town!" White yelled, Jimmy Olsen trying his darnedest to keep him calm. "Plasmus is on a rampage!"

"S-Sir, isn't Plasmus more a Jump City criminal?" Jimmy asked. "What's he doing in Metropolis?"

Perry turned to face Jimmy slowly, the vein in his forehead bigger than anyone had seen it since Luthor was sworn in as President. "...You know, Jimmy, you're right. Maybe the police have him confused with some other giant purple goo monster."

"...A-Actually, sir, I believe he's magenta..." Jimmy corrected as everyone else in the room prepared for the bellow to come.

"_**GET THE HELL DOWN-TOWN!**_"

"So, shall I catch a ride with Olsen, or do y-" Lois started to say, turning to face Clark, only to notice he was already gone. "...You wanna fly off without me...Of course."

* * *

The people of down-town Metropolis ran and screamed in terror as the ten foot tall slime monster toppled telephone poles, screeching at the top of its lungs. They'd never guess that this creature was once simply Otto Von Furth, a German mine worker. They couldn't possibly be expected to believe that this monster was actually a horrified human being, mutated into the magenta monstrosity by a former Nazi General, now forced to go into a rampage whenever he awoke, which was supposed to be never. Apparently, the people in charge of his containment at S.T.A.R. Labs botched their job, BADLY.

As Plasmus stomped along, a single mother and her child ran in fear, only to trip over a fallen pole. The mother checked on her son for a moment before looking up to see Plasmus looming over them, letting out a desperate scream for help as she covered her boy's body with her own.

"Yo, 'Slimer'!"

Plasmus turned to face the source of the yell, just in time to receive a steel sledge-hammer thrown into his face, embedding into his gooey head. With an irritated growl, he grabbed the hammer and tossed it aside as the mother fled with her child. Plasmus then turned his attention to the thrower: A late-teens African-American in a Metropolis Monarchs jersey. The young man just stared at Plasmus in anger, not showing any fear whatsoever.

"How 'bout you pick on someone at least half your size?!" he yelled, picking up his sledge-hammer again.

Plasmus merely growled before spitting a wad of slime at the young man's sledge-hammer, knocking it free from his grasp. The boy could only watch as the slime suddenly unleashed some sort of super-acid that melted the hammer down completely, his eye twitching as some fear managed to find its way into his mind.

"...Ooohh crap..." he muttered as Plasmus rushed him, only to stop as he was within inches of being able to swing a slimy fist at him.

The young man ran for cover behind a car, staring in awe of what he saw. Holding Plasmus back by one of his sludgy hands was HIM. His eyes were filled with endless confidence, but still had a warmth to them. He was wearing a blue and red plated bodysuit of sorts based off of his old tights, right down to his yellow belt, red singlet, red boots, the long red cape, and of course, the red and yellow S emblem on his chest. There was no doubt, it was the Man of Tomorrow himself: Kal-El of Krypton, Superman.

"Okay, Plasmus," Superman said calmly, "we can do this one of two ways: You can go back into containment voluntarily, or I can make you."

Plasmus' only reply was to spit a wad of green fluid at Superman. The Man of Tomorrow saw it coming, able to dodge most of it, but somehow, a small trace of it still managed to splash across him. This should have been nothing to him, but very quickly, the Last Son of Krypton was noticing that his body was slowing slightly, like his strength was being sapped away. His eyes widened as he looked to the substance on his hands, realising it had a certain green glow to it he was all too familiar with.

Clark didn't have time to ponder how this was possible, however, as Plasmus quickly backhanded him across the street and into a parked van. "...Okay, that could've gone better..."

"Superman!" an all-too-familiar voice called out as he pulled himself from the van. Sure enough, standing not too far away, was Lois, watching the scene while Jimmy took pictures. One of these days, he knew he was going to have to do something about her constantly coming out and getting in harm's way...although what eluded him. He could seal her clothes to her chair with his heat vision, and she'd probably just strip out of them. That's how much dedication she had.

Plasmus roared as he leaped at Superman, his gigantic jaws coming down around him. Nearly everyone watching felt their hearts stop for a moment, but thankfully, only a moment, as a pair of red heat lasers fired out the back of Plasmus' body, followed by the magenta menace falling to the ground, Superman tumbling across the cement covered in purple and green goo. He was panting heavily, clutching his chest and trying his best to wipe the substance from himself as Lois ran over.

"What's wrong?!" she demanded.

"...Liquid...Kryptonite..." Kal-El replied in between gasps. "His body's...full of it...!"

"It comes in liquid form now?" Jimmy asked before looking back to Plasmus' body. "...Uh, Big Blue?!"

Superman groaned as he slowly made his way back to his feet, Plasmus having pulled himself back together and stomping toward them. Lois reached into her purse, pulling out a blue disc that Superman had given her for emergencies, and chucked it at Plasmus, causing it to explode and cover him in a freezing agent. Unfortunately, even that only seemed to slow him for a few moments, as he was quickly starting to crack free.

"Get out of here, Lois...!" Superman moaned as Plasmus was beginning to move.

"He'll kill you!" Lois cried. "Are you insane?!"

Meanwhile, the young man from earlier had managed to creep closer. He realised what was happening: Superman, his idol, was ready to sacrifice his life to stop Plasmus. He couldn't let that happen, but what could he do? Searching his pockets out of instinct, he found a wrench from when he was doing some construction work before basketball practise. This wouldn't do anything to Plasmus, but then, maybe it didn't have to, as he spotted a fire hydrant near Superman. If he could wash the Kryptonite from Superman's body, it could restore his strength.

Without any further hesitation, the late-teen ran to the hydrant and smashed it hard as he could with his wrench. Sure enough, water shot out, soaking Superman and washing the Kryptonite from his body. However, such an act did not go unnoticed by the newly-freed Plasmus, who roared at the boy before spitting the super-acid at him. Of course, Superman was faster than the acid. He just wasn't fast enough, as even though he moved the boy out of the way, much of his body was still sprayed, causing him to scream out in searing pain as he felt parts of his body start melt away.

"Oh my God...!" Lois gasped, Jimmy looking ready to hurl.

Superman's jaw dropped in horror at the sight before him. The young man had managed to save him, and he was unable to stop him from suffering this horrific fate. He was still alive, barely, but his body was being eaten away. Gritting his teeth, he turned and grabbed Plasmus by the monster's neck, the creature gasping as fear set in. With a powerful leap, Superman shot straight up into the sky with Plasmus before punching him hard, sending him hurling all the way into the river far off. Flying after, Superman watched as Plasmus lost consciousness in the river, reverting back to the sleeping form of Otto Von Furth. The Man of Tomorrow quickly dove in, retrieving his unconscious body, before soaring back to where he'd left Lois, Jimmy, and the slowly-but-surely melting boy.

"Get him into the van!" Superman cried, motioning to the one he'd crashed into before. "Carefully!"

Lois nodded as she, Jimmy, and a few on-lookers carefully carried the boy to the van, cautious not to get the acid-like substance on themselves, as Superman placed Otto in as well. The young man was groaning, weeping, would likely have been flailing if it were possible in his shape. His one good eye looked up to stare into Superman's sorrow-filled eyes.

"Stay with me, son," Superman ordered. "...Tell me your name."

The boy groaned, trying to hold on. "...V...Victor...S-Stone..."

Superman nodded, sliding under the van. "I'm flying them both to S.T.A.R. Labs! Call ahead and tell them to have Plasmus' containment tube ready!"

"Got it!" Lois replied, stepping back as Superman lifted the van up, careful not to rock it, and flew into the sky with it in the direction of S.T.A.R. Labs, Lois reaching for her cell phone. "...Get me S.T.A.R. Labs, now!"

* * *

**_AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** So, say hello to my new fanfic that I'll be working on for a while. I decided it was best to focus on this first before I did Will & Hope, since I wanna get this finished before the year's out, what with this being Superman's 75th Anniversary.

Anyway, let's get some details out of the way. First off, I feel the need to reiterate that this fanfic takes place in the same 'verse as Tales of the Caped Crusader. Also, I alluded to a few events like Lex Luthor becoming President and then losing his presidency and getting arrested. It's not QUITE Public Enemies, and yes, it IS a story I will be telling eventually, but like I said, I wanted to get Man of Tomorrow out of the way first.

Second, as I said at the beginning, this version of Cyborg will take a few cues from Steel. Specifically, he is inspired by Superman, and he does some construction work on the side of his usual activities (sports). In fact, you'll notice that at no point in this chapter did I refer to Superman as the Man of Steel. Remember that, I'll touch on it later.

Third, the suit that Superman is wearing is actually based on concept art for his appearance in Injustice: Gods Among Us. I actually think it looks like the best armoured re-interpretation of the Superman costume that I've ever seen. And yes, he DID wear the tights at some point in his career, and I will explain why he isn't currently later on.

Fourth, yes, Lois Lane knows that Clark Kent and Superman are the same person, and they are in a relationship. They aren't married YET, but they are dating. Why? Basically to prove a point: That even if DC felt they HAD to break up the marriage, Lois should still be Superman's main source of support. Heck, of everything that was wrong with the Man of Steel movie, I thought that was one of the best parts of it, was the role Lois had.

Fifth, Plasmus in this fic is pretty much a mixture of his comic book version and his Teen Titans cartoon version. Also, while I _**THINK** _the liquid Kryptonite he uses in this fic was a thing once or twice in the comics (albeit not with Plasmus), for this fic, we're just gonna roll with the idea that this is the first time Superman's ever come into contact with Kryptonite in liquid form.

Finally, as for Amanda Waller being President...you'll see why later. :)

Anyway, check in for the next chapter to see if Superman is able to save Victor, and if he can determine the source of the liquid Kryptonite Plasmus had in his body. Ja né!


	2. Of Stone And Steel

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

Superman was careful to place the van gently on the helicopter pad for S.T.A.R. Labs' Metropolis division. Sure enough, two teams were standing by: One medical team for Victor, and a containment unit for Otto. In addition, he couldn't help but notice one of the scientists with the medical team, a middle-aged African-American man, was almost hysterical in trying to push past to Victor.

"VICTOR!" he screamed. "Oh God! What happened?!"

Superman held the man back, seeing he was getting in the way. "Sir, you have to calm dow-"

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIM?!" the man screamed, grabbing Kal-El by the part of his cape that connected to the front of his collar.

Superman, seeing that nothing he could say or do at this point would calm the man down, instead placed a hand to his shoulder, pinching at just the right pressure point. The man let out a small yelp before going limp, falling unconscious in Superman's arms. It was only then that Superman noticed the scientist's name-tag.

"Silas...Stone?" the Man of Tomorrow read with a gasp.

"His father," one of the women on the medical team said, the rest taking Victor and Otto into the building. "They don't see each other much after Victor's mother..."

Superman gave a sad nod, understanding the situation as he handed Silas to the woman. At this point, he should've returned to the Daily Planet. After all, when Clark Kent is missing for too long, people start to ask questions about what he does with his personal life. And yet, watching Silas and his son get taken inside, something in him told him to stay. Maybe he felt bad for their situation, maybe he felt responsible, or maybe he figured it was quicker to stay in the building then have to come back later for the results from Otto. But whatever it was, he knew he couldn't leave.

* * *

The Last Son of Krypton watched from behind the glass to the advanced medical room for S.T.A.R. Labs as the doctors frantically tried to save Victor. It had been an hour since he'd arrived, and given the shape he was in, it was a miracle he survived for even this long. During this time, he'd gotten word from the scientists at containment. Apparently his guards weren't incompetent, just on the take. in addition, no one could tell how he'd been infused with liquid Kryptonite, or where it had come from, but they HAD managed to get it out of him. This brought a frown to Superman's face as he'd quickly put two and two together to figure out who was the most likely suspect.

"Superman?"

Kal-El turned to his left and saw Professor Silas Stone standing in the doorway to medical, looking pale. "...Professor. I'm sorry about earlier-"

"Don-Don't worry about that..." Silas stammered, raising a hand. "...Thank you for getting my son here."

Superman nodded, looking back to the window. "...How is he still alive?"

"The advanced medical science we have here at S.T.A.R. is keeping his vitals, what ones he has left anyway, still going," Silas explained, "but they won't last for much longer. The damage to his body needs to be repaired."

"...I've obtained technology from other worlds, and I wouldn't know how to heal that mu-" Superman started to say before his eyes widened in recognition of what Silas was suggesting. "...Are you even legally sanctioned to use that?"

"Legally, yes," the professor answered with a sigh. "Ethically? Philosophically? I mean, we've all heard the tales. We know what it can do to someone...But..."

Superman frowned sympathetically, seeing the tears well up in Stone's eyes as he sat on the bench in the hall. "...When I lost my Elinore, his mother...I buried myself in my work to hide the pain, but...I missed so much of his life in the process. Football games, basketball, weight-lifting, even construction like he was doing today...He always loves to push his body, and I couldn't take two minutes out of my work just to watch and show how proud of him I was...because just looking at him reminded me of what I'd lost..."

Clark sighed, sitting next to the professor. "...We all lose people close to us, Professor Stone. Death is still one of those things we don't understand. I've spoken to poets, philosophers, scientists, and priests from all corners of this world, and from others. And honestly? I still don't understand it."

Silas' eyes narrowed as he looked up to the window. "...I can't lose him too. I wasn't there for him in the most important time of his life, and I can't just turn a blind eye when I have a way to save him."

Superman slowly nodded in understanding. "...Do what you feel you have to, Professor. Just remember that...if you think he needed you before, he's going to need you in his life now more than ever."

* * *

Clark let out a long sigh, touching down on the nice carpet floor before speed-changing out of his costume and into his casual wear. The lights were on, so he was sure she was home. In fact, he could even smell the scent of lavender, which meant she was waiting for him. And if he had to guess, he knew exactly where, though he felt the need to hold back on the x-ray vision and instead lay eyes on her the old-fashioned way.

Opening the door to their bedroom, Clark saw that, sure enough, Lois was laying on her side across the bed, left arm propped up, head resting on her hand, and wearing nothing but a light-blue t-shirt with his logo on it that was a few sizes too big. And, as if Clark actually had to think these words in his head, she did in fact look GLORIOUS while doing so, smirking at him playfully.

"Well, you managed to take down the giant monster threatening Metropolis," Lois said as she let her right hand lay on her hip, "but do you think you can defeat your arch-nemesis of the bedroom?"

Clark smiled, albeit half-heartedly. "...You're not my arch-nemesis, Lois. For one thing, you aren't nearly bald enough."

Lois just let out a small scoff and rolled her eyes, clearly picking up on his lack of being 'in the mood'. "Alright, Smallville, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, really," Clark lied, closing the door behind him and removing his shirt, only to turn and see Lois staring into his eyes with that look she had where he just knew she could read him like a book.

"...Honey, do you know what this is?" Lois inquired. "This is OUR room. This is the place where you never HAVE to be Superman, everything doesn't HAVE to be amazing, and I will **ALWAYS** love you."

Clark lied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "...It's the boy, Victor."

"Is he...?" Lois asked, putting her hands to Clark's shoulders.

"He's alive, barely..." Clark responded, Lois letting out a sigh of relief. "...By all rights, he very well COULD have died..."

"That was a crazy stunt that kid pulled," Lois said.

"Gets worse," Clark went on. "His father is a scientist there, thinks he can save him with some technology that I honestly am not even 100% sure ANYONE on this planet should have, but...he's a widower, and he refuses to let his son die."

"Oh God," Lois muttered. "That has to be...Oh God..."

Clark nodded, looking down at his hands. "... ... ...If I could've just moved a second faster. If I'd just-"

Clark stopped as he felt Lois' index finger to his lip, quieting him. "Stop. Right. There. You saved his life. I don't care what kind of tech they have at S.T.A.R. Labs, he's still alive because you got him there as fast as you did."

Clark sighed. "I know, Lois. It's just not the easiest thing in the world to accept that I can outrun speeding bullets, catch people who fall out of planes, it MIGHT even be possible to remove brain tumours with my heat vision, if I had the most precise aim in the universe, but I still can't stop death for good."

"And no one would ask you to," Lois insisted. "No one's asking you to be God...Well, except for those weirdos on 15th and Main."

"Ugh, PLEASE don't remind me," Clark groaned, falling back on the bed and burying his face in his hands. "I only JUST managed to get them to stop waking people up at 5 in the morning asking for donations!"

"Y'know, we could've at least kept SOME of the money they received," Lois joked, snuggling up to Clark. "After all, I've always wanted a new jacuzzi."

Clark immediately opened his mouth to object, but then stopped for a moment. "...Huh. I wonder if I could build one in the Fortress of Solitude."

"Yeah, jacuzzi in the North Pole, that sounds lovely," Lois replied in a deadpan voice. "Next, I'll go skinny dipping with the penguins."

Clark chuckled, cuddling up to Lois. "I love you so much, Lois Lane."

Lois smirked. "Mm, does that mean you feel like going a few rounds with your arch-nemesis?"

"I suppose I could use the warm-up before I go confront my REAL arch-nemesis," Clark responded, getting a confused look from Lois. "...Someone paid off the guards at the Jump City facility for S.T.A.R. Labs, got Plasmus into Metropolis, AND injected him with liquidized Kryptonite. Sound like someone we know?"

"But he's behind bars, right?" Lois suggested, getting a nod from Clark. "...Which means he either had help on the outside, or someone else with his kind of money, resources, and lack of a moral centre wants you dead...Wonderful choice..."

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_ So, not much to say here. Sorry there wasn't much in the way of action this chapter, but don't worry, I'm building up to something. Plus, just wanted some more awesome Lois and Clark moments. Also, it probably goes without saying that Victor and Silas' relationship is a bit more based on their New 52 selves, though with very different reasoning for why Silas didn't make Vic's games and whatnot.

Anyway, be sure to check in next time, wherein Superman goes to visit the dreaded Baldy Flatscalp. And no, it's not improv legend Colin Mochrie. lol Ja né!


	3. Fires

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

With a loud cry of triumph, Roxy Rocket shot through the skies on her trademark rocket, pocketing some stolen jewellery into the rocket's saddlebag. Not her best heist, but it was a 'take what you can get' scenario with that tour boat. And the wind in her hair and the bullets whizzing past as she made her escape made it more than worth it for the former stunt-woman.

Looking to a rear-view mirror she'd had fixed to the rocket's handlebars, Roxy smiled widely. Sure enough, she had company: A blue and red figure that looked like a statue of a Greek God come to life. While she always had a thing for the never-say-die attitude of Batman, it always excited her to test wills against the Man of Tomorrow.

Superman smirked as he flew up alongside of Roxy and her rocket. "Roxy Rocket! Stealing more valuables from helpless tourists?"

"Hey, it's a gig," Roxy remarked with a shrug. "Think you can get 'em back?"

"You know, I HAVE other plans," Superman replied, deciding to have a little fun with one of his less threatening enemies.

"Aww, can't spare time for a quickie?" Roxy asked slyly, right before hitting the ignition for the extra boosters she'd planted in the rocket. "Well, ciao Supes! Call me sometime!"

Roxy giggled to herself, feeling a sense of pride well up...until her rocket stopped dead in its tracks and she almost flew clear off of it. Sure enough, not even 10 seconds after she'd thought she'd left Superman in her dust, there he was, floating in front of her, his hands on the front of the rocket, keeping it perfectly in place. He just smirked at her, almost like he was testing the waters to see if she had ANYTHING else up her sleeve...but, at the moment, Roxy could only think of one thing.

"...Uh, best two outta three?" she asked, sweat-dropping.

* * *

"Y'know, you could've at least given me a ride back to Gotham!" Roxy yelled at Superman as he flew off, leaving her to be shoved into the police van on the side of the road below.

Superman shook his head, chuckling. As much as he hated to admit it, there WAS something fun about stopping Roxy Rocket sometimes. At least nobody ever got seriously hurt when they had their bouts, and anything she stole would get returned. Still, he DID wish she'd quit the life of crime, maybe turn to crime-fighting instead. But, as Batman would always tell him, her psychosis would always prevent her from doing the right thing. Still, he could wish for it at least.

Looking ahead, Kal-El watched as the actual city portions of Washington, D.C. started to race toward him. Not quite where Lex Luthor was being held, but THAT place was a maximum security prison. THE maximum security, actually. That meant he had two options for going in to see Luthor: Either just fly in unannounced and cause trouble, or seek permission, and only one person on Earth could get him permission to enter.

Suddenly, Clark's ears picked up something. Sirens below. Sure enough, there was a chase. Using his x-ray vision, he saw the two men in ski masks, with what looked to be semi-automatics in their laps and a few bags of money in the back-seat. Bank robbers. Terrific. Still, nothing the police weren't capable of handling...and that's when Superman noticed the group of elementary school students at a cross-walk with their teacher a ways ahead, likely on a field trip. Judging by the driving of the bank robbers, he could just tell what was going to happen in less than 30 seconds.

With a burst of speed, Superman rocketed himself down, landing hard in the middle of the cross-walk and cracking the street slightly, the kids stopped in awe of what they saw. Then, with the car speeding toward him, the Man of Tomorrow took in a deep breath and blew out a blast of cold air, freezing the front of the car over and stopping it in its tracks. The children cheered as Superman walked over and tore the driver's side door off, the two bank robbers holding their guns, albeit shakily due to fear and the cold.

"...Just in case you're thinking about trying it, I should point out that I'm bullet-proof," Superman warned. "Also, I can melt those guns before you even dare to point them at someone else, which I've been told can be painful for the person holding the gun."

The two bank robbers looked to each other, then to their guns, then back to Superman, then promptly handed them to the Man of Tomorrow. He grinned, taking the weapons and crumpling them into useless paperweights. Superman then looked away to where the police were filing in, then turned to face the children with a friendly smile.

"Just remember, kids," he instructed as he touched off, "not everyone respects cross-walks!"

* * *

_Mom'll hate me forever,_ the girl thought, inching toward the edge of the roof of her apartment complex.

Tammy had finally had enough. Her father left when she was 4, and was found dead after drinking and driving when she was 7. Her step-father left when she was 13, after her mother found out what he'd been going to strip clubs every other night after work and was seeing a woman who worked there. Her boyfriend, the most wonderful man she'd ever known, was in the hospital in a coma. And now her science teacher was making passes on her. She just couldn't take it any more. She had to make it stop.

Tammy sobbed as she reached the edge. "...I'm sorry, Mom...Dad..."

"...Bad day?"

Tammy's eyes widened as she slowly turned to face the man behind her. In a sight that nearly startled her off the roof, there was Superman, standing just a couple of feet away. It seemed unreal, like a hallucination, but there he was. His eyes seemed to be piercing her soul, and for the life of her, she could not form words to say what she felt.

"I was just flying by," Superman explained. "...What's your name?"

"... ... ...T-Tammy..." Tammy managed to stutter.

"Are you sure you want to be out on this ledge, Tammy?" Superman asked, which Tammy shook her head to after a few moments of silence. "I don't really need to be anywhere right now, if you'd like to talk about it."

Tammy looked into his eyes, seeing the warmth in them. Her lip trembling, tears running down her face, she stepped forward, away from the ledge, hugging the Man of Tomorrow tightly and crying into his chest. And Superman, the man who could move mountains with the sheer force of will and strength that he has, gently patted her head and let her cry out her troubles.

* * *

"Madam President, the new school being constructed in east-side Coral City is nearing completion, they've asked if you can be there for the grand opening in August."

"Move some things around in my schedule, and it should be doable."

"President Waller, there's a meeting set-up for next week with the Secretary of Defence, something about an orbital defence system that was dug up from the old CADMUS proje-"

"Remind him CADMUS was shut down for a reason."

"Madam President, there's someone here that wants to have a short meeting with you."

"Tell him to take a number," Amanda Waller exclaimed, opening the door to the oval office.

"How about a letter?" Waller whirled around, spotting the Man of Tomorrow standing by the door inside the room with a cocky grin. "I hear 'S' is available."

President Waller's eyes narrowed before she shifted her attention to her secretaries and guards. "...Leave us for a moment."

The group of men quietly excused themselves, allowing Amanda Waller to shut the door. "It's not everyday you come looking for me in my office, Superman. What do you want?"

"I need your help with something," Kal-El answered.

"...That's a first," Waller admitted, folding her arms. "Help with what?"

"Had some trouble at home recently," Superman explained.

Amanda nodded. "Plasmus got out of containment. I already plan to have whoever is in charge of S.T.A.R.'s Jump City division to be held accountable for-"

"That's not the main problem," Superman cut in, reaching to his belt and pulling out what appeared to be a small plastic bag. "THIS is."

Waller blinked in confusion for a moment before leaning in. She knew the bag wasn't plastic, of course, it was a see-through alloy meant to block various forms of radiation, which meant whatever was in the bag was dangerous. And as soon as she got in close to the green liquid, noticing the certain shimmer it had, her eyes widened in astonishment and disbelief.

"...That can't be what I think it is..." the President muttered. "...Can it?"

"Liquid Kryptonite," The Last Son of Krypton confirmed. "Plasmus was injected with it."

"When I was running CADMUS, our top scientists said it was impossible to liquidize Kryptonite and have it work," Waller recalled. "That the radioactive isotopes spontaneously broke down when it's liquidized for some reason."

"Well, I can assure you, someone figured out how to make it work," Kal-El remarked. "I don't have any leads...not yet, anyway. But, I think you and I can guess the place to start."

Waller nodded. "Luthor."

"I need security clearance to go see him," Superman stated, getting a surprised look from the President.

"...I'll make the call," Waller replied, to which Superman nodded, pocketed the Kryptonite, and walked to the open window. "I'm surprised you would ask first. The last time you needed to see someone in prison, you just went in."

"That's because I wasn't exactly on very good terms with the President at the time," the Man of Tomorrow responded, lifting a foot to the windowsill before turning back to face the President. "...We've never been friends, Madam President, and I don't expect we ever will be. But, I want you to know, I'm not your enemy either...and I've never had to be."

* * *

Victor groaned, feeling himself wake up. However, opening his eyes, something was wrong. Everything out his left eye seemed to have a red tinge to it. Blinking a couple of times, nothing changed, and yet, after a few seconds, the colour seemed to return to normal on its own. Giving his head a small shake, he tried to sit up, too dazed to notice the restraints around him, or when they snapped off from the force of his sitting up against them. Victor rubbed his head, trying to get the cobwebs out, but noticed something wrong: His hand. It felt too cool, almost metallic, to be his hand. At first, he thought maybe he was wearing some kind of glove...but that's when he brought his hand into view.

"GAH!" Victor cried out. In place of his usual, flesh and blood hand, was some sort of mechanical prosthetic. In fact, his whole arm seemed replaced with a grey mechanized arm that glowed light blue in places. He looked down to the sheet covering the rest of his body. He was horrified to do so, but he pulled the sheet away, and almost screamed at what he saw: Nearly his entire body had been replaced by robotic components, and what was left was giving cybernetic upgrades to keep his body balanced out.

Suddenly, memories of before came back. The acid-like substance he was sprayed with. His body...Victor shook his head. It couldn't be true, but it was: His body had been all but completely eaten away by the stuff Plasmus had hosed him with. Even the equipment S.T.A.R. Labs had couldn't possibly keep him alive after that, which meant the only way to save him was to rebuild his body using machinery. His arms, his legs, his...

Victor froze, suddenly putting two and two together regarding the red filter over his left eye before. He knew then that his heart and his lungs were working just fine, because he could feel himself nearly hyperventilating. He needed a mirror, now. Getting off the bed, he ran to the nearby sink, his gaze fixed on the mirror. There, staring back at him, was half his face, half a robot's face, a red lens covering his left eye.

"No...!" Victor yelled, aiming his right arm at the mirror as his hand was quickly replaced by some sort of blaster. "NOOOO!"

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_ IT'S ALIVE!...Oh, like you would never say that. lol

Okay, so I lied slightly. I said Superman was going to face Luthor here, but I decided to hold off for another chapter, and instead get some of Superman being a superhero, mainly because there would've just been a lot of talking in this chapter otherwise, and I didn't feel like doing that two chapters in a row. Plus, how could I resist doing a scene where Superman stops a girl from jumping off a ledge? Mind you, All-Star Superman did it better, but I had to include an homage to that scene somewhere.

Anyway, for the record, Cyborg's appearance in this fic is basically the one he had in the Teen Titans cartoon. I chose that one because...well, it's the one I'm most familiar with, having initially gotten into the Titans through that show. As for Amanda Waller, think JLU, only VERY slightly trimmed down. Like, still overweight, but not overly so. And Roxy Rocket is...well, Roxy Rocket. lol Honestly, I don't think her general appearance changed much at all when she was transitioned to the comics.

Anyhow, check in next time when Superman has a little pow-wow with Lex Luthor (for real this time), and see how Vic's dealing with the whole Cyborg thing. Ja né!


	4. Hope

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

"We got the call from the President, Superman," the guard, Duprée, said as he led the Man of Tomorrow through the halls of the prison. "I'll warn ya right now, though: We got all these guys locked up good and tight, but don't take any chances with 'em. All your worst nightmares are down here..."

Superman nodded in agreement. Stryker's Island had always been used as THE correctional facility for the worst of the worst as far as criminals in the Metropolis area was concerned. However, during President Luthor's time in the White House, he set about making changes that practically made the prison into an inescapable dungeon with the most advanced technology known to man. Of course, it was later revealed that these improvements, which did in fact make attempted escapes by any of the prisoners ultimately futile, were actually put into place for one future prisoner he planned to place there: Superman. Ironic, then, that the first new prisoner to enter Stryker's Island, following its revamp, was Luthor himself. And while some argued he was simply trading in one throne for another, what with many of his accomplices serving time there as well, he still had yet to manage an escape in nearly two years.

Kal-El looked to the prisoners of this floor. Indeed, some of his worst villains were all locked down here, all behind forcefields that were each powered to repulse different forms of energy and attack. He passed by Atomic Skull, whose bare skull burned in violet flames as the Man of Tomorrow passed by. In the cell after his was Magpie, who simply admired the belt on Superman's costume, mentally adding it to her list of shiny objects to steal. Next was Baud, the energy being, who scowled at him while raking her hardened gold nails across her forcefield to no avail. Dyna-mind sat at the back of his cell, just glaring with murderous intent at the Last Son of Krypton. Parasite, however, took one look at him and leaped toward the Man of Tomorrow, only to get zapped by the shield and knocked to the back of his cell.

"...Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday," the overgrown zombie in the next cell said to himself, "christened on Tuesday, muddled o-...W-Wait, mangled? Mumbled? Margarine?"

"Married, Grundy," Superman answered as he passed by.

"Right, right," Grundy grunted. "Um, married on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday..."

Finally, Superman came to the end of the hall, standing before the last cell for this floor. Sure enough, there he was, wearing a prison uniform that looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks, sitting on the edge of his bed, and looking over some notes that were scattered across the floor. Of course, Superman didn't bother saying anything to get his attention. He knew the man inside the cell knew he was there.

"...They always make a ruckus when certain people come by," the man muttered, running a hand over his bald head. "They want out, you know. They want freedom from this hell-hole."

"That you created," Superman rebuked.

The man kicked some notes away. "...I didn't build it for them. I built it for YOU, and that treasonous, self-serving, bloated bitch took my idea and fashioned it into a prison for everyone BUT you...the one who deserved to be here most."

"Don't pretend like you care about them, Lex," Kal-El demanded.

"Heheh, who said I did?" Luthor chuckled, standing up and meeting the gaze of Superman, showing off the scar that ran across his right eye, a souvenir of their battle almost two years ago. "I just thought I'd make it clear we knew how they felt. Of course, I could care less. What I find odd is that these...monstrosities should've all been put down long ago, and yet you keep them locked up in here. Is it because YOU care about them? Or do you simply keep them as trophies of your 'heroics'?"

"I didn't come down here to debate morality with a morally bankrupt man," Superman exclaimed.

"Then why did you come down here?" Lex asked. "To waste both of our time?"

Superman's eyes narrowed, fishing his bag out of his belt. "I want to know what you know about THIS."

Lex walked up to the forcefield, carefully inspecting the bag from just beyond it, his frown growing with each passing moment. "...That it isn't mine, but whoever's it IS, they stole my idea."

"And I'm to believe that?" Kal-El inquired, getting a laugh from Luthor. "...Did I say something funny?"

"Trust me, if it had been what I was working on, you wouldn't still be here," Lex Luthor answered. "No, while this is clearly based on the liquidized Kryptonite I was planning to create, to use on you, of course, clearly the crafter took a few short-cuts to get a working version out quicker. However, the version I was planning to have finished...a single drop of it would've been fatal."

"So why wasn't this?" Superman questioned.

"Well, I don't have YOUR kind of vision, so I can't answer for sure," Luthor explained. "But, if I was to guess, in the fool's rush, some of the radioactive isotopes broke down. Not enough to make it useless, but just enough to make it non-lethal."

"Any theories on who that someone might be?" the Man of Tomorrow asked.

Luthor scoffed. "...Even if I had some idea as to who that could be...You lock me in here with animals, the likes of which belong in Hell. You take my presidency. You cost me a good portion of the fortune my family's blood, sweat and tears accumulated. All in the name of being a 'hero', when the truth is, all that you are is a selfish freak-show, either unwilling or unable to share your gifts, thus you come to be Earth's saviour, so that mankind can worship you like God. So, for future reference, whenever you come to me asking for my help, my answer is always NO."

Superman's eyes narrowed, looking into Luthor's, something that didn't go unnoticed by the former president. "...And what exactly are you looking for?"

"The same thing I always try to find in you, Lex..." Superman answered sadly, turning to leave. "...Hope."

* * *

Victor sighed hard, sitting up against the walls of the abandoned apartment building. He'd found some sweatpants and a hoodie to hide his face and his cybernetic components, and now was just trying to hide out somewhere after fleeing from S.T.A.R. Labs. He wasn't overheated, though. He guessed there was something in the technology implanted throughout his body that was keeping his body at a comfortable temperature. In fact, he was almost certain of it.

"...Wonder what time it is..." Vic muttered, to which a digital readout of the time appeared on the lens over his left eye. "...Okay, THAT'S gettin' annoying. What, did Dad put every little piece of data I could ever possibly need into this?"

But Victor already knew the answer. Of course he did. Everything Silas Stone did, he did to perfection. On top of that, in the shape Vic was in, he'd need little advantages like that. He even guessed that the arm blaster, or 'White Noise Cannon' as another digital readout had told him, was in case he ever decided to pull another stunt like he had with Plasmus.

"Dammit, I didn't ask him to do that!" Vic yelled, punching a hole in the wall behind him. "I didn't ask for arm blasters, or a built-in clock, or any of this! I didn't ask to be turned into some kinda freak!"

"...You know, that word seems to get tossed around a lot."

Vic's eyes widened as he got up and spun around to face the door to the apartment. Sure enough, there was Superman, with a look of sympathy that made the young man want to break down into tears. The thing was, he wasn't even completely sure he could shed tears anymore. All he could do was look away, in shame, from the Man of Tomorrow.

"...Dad tell you what he did?" Vic asked.

The Last Son of Krypton nodded. "...And then some. He told me about your mother, and about how he wasn't there for you. He said he couldn't lose you too."

"So, to make up for never really being there for me in my life, he decided to play Frankenstein with my body and turn me into a Cyborg," Vic summarised. "Yeah, you'll understand if I'm a little less than grateful. All my dreams, they're down the drain now. There's not a university in the world that would take me on to play football, or basketball. Hell, I'd be surprised if they let me into the Special Olympics with this crap on me!"

Superman just stared, letting Victor vent. "...I'm sorry, it's just...I get what he did, really. But those were my dreams, and without them, I...And now I gotta live like THIS?!...I don't know how...!"

"You know, I thought I was a freak once," Superman admitted, catching Victor off-guard. "When I was 10 years old, I found out I could bend steel. When I was 11, I could see through walls. 12, I could burn things just by looking at them. 13, I could leap tall buildings with a single bound."

"But you always got to look human," Vic countered.

"True," Superman noted. "...But I knew I wasn't human. Not physically, anyway."

Victor just stared at the Man of Tomorrow like he'd grown another head. "...What's THAT mean?"

"It means that even though I'm an alien, even with all these amazing things I can do, I'm still human where it counts," Kal-El explained. "Earth has been the only home I've ever known. My human parents taught me my values."

"...Truth, Justice, and the American Way, right?" Victor guessed, getting a smile from Superman.

"Among other things," Superman replied. "...Victor, I can't pass judgement on your father. I can't say that he was right or wrong. All I know is that he saw his son dying, SLOWLY. And while I questioned him on the matter, the truth is...The truth is, I've always chosen life over death, regardless of the situation, and if I had been in his shoes, I probably would've done the same as he did."

Victor nodded, understanding as Superman went on. "And what you look like now, what you've been turned into, it doesn't matter. You're still the person who did volunteer construction work on a shelter for the homeless. You're still the person who gave it 150% when the rest of his team was banged up playing Blüdhaven, because you didn't want the rest of the team to think their hard work went to waste. You're still the person who shaved their head so that their friend wouldn't feel bad when they came back to school after going through chemo."

Vic let out a small chuckle. "...Well, the bald look DOES seem to work for me, at least better than some other people you know."

Superman smiled. "I don't know what your future holds for you, Victor. All I know is that it doesn't have to be a tragedy. Not if you don't want it to be."

"...I guess I just need to think about what I'm gonna do next," Vic responded.

"Well, while you do that, I have some top-secret information I need to extract," Superman said.

Vic cocked his eyebrow. "...LexCorp Tower?"

"Lex Luthor said someone stole his plans for liquidized Kryptonite," Superman explained. "I don't know if I believe him, but either way, the answers should be stored somewhere in LexCorp Tower."

"Yeah, but security's been tighter nowadays," Vic pointed out, "and they won't care if you're Superman. They catch you trespassing, you could get in all kinds of trouble."

"I know, but what else can I do?" Kal-El asked.

Victor folded his arms, considering what Superman could possibly do in the situation. As if on cue, Vic suddenly noticed that several file folder icons had popped up on his visor, listing the various functions at his disposal. Looking a few over, he saw one function that almost made him grin.

"...Maybe there's something I can do," Vic said.

* * *

_**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**_ Before anyone asks, in case they don't know, here are the villains that cameo'd at Stryker's Island: Atomic Skull is a villain mutated by a gene-bomb and can burn you to cinders just by touching you. Magpie is a thief who steals jewels and other shiny objects and replaces them with booby-trapped replicas. Baud is some sort of golden energy being that was a member of the Superman Revenge Squad. Dyna-mind was a villain of Superman's when he was still Superboy that has telekinesis and can animate giant figures that he creates. Parasite was transformed by chemicals into a being that absorbs life-energy from people and takes the powers of any super-powered individuals he drains. And Solomon Grundy...If you don't know who Grundy is, I feel sad for you, since he's fought most of the big name heroes in DC, but he was a mobster that was killed, cursed, then dumped in a mystical swamp, only to rise again as an overgrown zombie of often-times questionable intelligence (although that depends on which interpretation you're watching/reading). If you need any further info, please use Google. It is your friend. lol

Anyway, check in next chapter as Superman and Victor break into LexCorp Tower to find clues on who could've stolen the plans from Lex Luthor. Ja né!


	5. Toys and Tribulations!

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

Victor stepped around the corner of the top floor of LexCorp Tower, finding himself in front of the door to Lex Luthor's former office, now belonging to the stand-in head of the company. Sure enough, there wasn't a single guard standing by, since LexCorp decided to forego any paid guards for the building, opting instead for a top of the line security system, with cameras on every corner, pulse blasters hidden in the walls, and things like that. Usually, that would be a great idea for a security system. Not so much against Victor Stone, whose new body came equipped with a number of ways of getting around security systems, probably as a way to go through airport security without setting off alarms for the mass amount of metal in his body now.

Frankly, Victor couldn't believe this tower was still standing, and that LexCorp still had someone running it. With Luthor in prison for almost two years now, the company should've been all but completely liquidized and the police should've been able to ransack his every file, uncover every last dirty secret and evil plot he had saved in his personal computer. Give Lex's lawyers this much: They couldn't get him out of jail time, but they somehow managed to not only keep this place up and running, but keep the authorities out.

"I can't believe this is going as well as it has been," Superman observed as he walked out from the shadows.

"Well, when Dad builds something," Victor replied. "The cloak is keeping us from being detected by surveillance. Even Luthor's security system can't pick us up."

"Remind me to recommend you for the next time Batman needs to break into places," Superman suggested, getting an odd look from Vic. "...What?"

Vic shrugged as they entered the office. "I dunno, I guess I just wasn't really planning to keep doing this...I mean, I'm not like you and Batman. I'm not a superhero, just a-"

"A young man who leaped in to save strangers when they needed help," Superman finished. "You have the makings of a hero, Victor. I can tell."

Vic smiled before they began searching the room for clues. "...I guess I'd need a name. What do you think? Tinman, Cyborg, Uplink...Oh hey, how 'bout 'The Man of Steel'? Y'know, since you're the Man of Tomorrow."

Superman thought it over while using his enhanced vision to check for fingerprints on Luthor's computer. "I guess 'The Man of Steel' works, but I think I'll just stick with Cyborg if that's alri-...Got something."

"So do I," the newly christened Cyborg responded. "File cabinet's been broken into. Whoever did it bent the steel almost exactly back into place, but there's still lines where you can see it got pried open, probably with a crowbar."

"Switch?" Clark asked, getting a nod from Cyborg and heading over to the file cabinet, Victor going to the computer. "...Okay, my x-ray vision can't see through the cabinet. Must be lined with lead."

"Think you can get that drawer open and see what got taken?" Cyborg suggested before looking up to see that Kal-El had carefully and quietly done just that. "...Oookay, I guess you can..."

As Superman searched the files, Victor's lens scanned the fingerprints on the keyboard, saving them to his now-near-endless memory. Like the lines in the cabinet, they seemed about a week or two old. Clearly, whoever was looking after the company for Luthor wasn't doing nearly as good a job as they thought they were. Once the fingerprints were saved, Cyborg looked to the USB port and held his index finger out.

"The Kryptonite file folders have the same fingerprints as the ones on the keyboard," Superman declared before looking over. "...What are you doing?"

"My arm transfigured into a sonic blaster before, that means that the alloy Dad used is probably some kinda shape-shifting material," Victor answered.

Kal-El nodded. "Right, probably left over from the Metal Men project."

"So that probably means that all I gotta do is focus on a shape and..." Cyborg trailed off, his fingertip suddenly changing into the end of a USB flash drive that plugged into the port. "Booyah! Okay, I'm in."

"What are you looking for?" Superman asked.

"Checking all the previously visited files in the past two weeks," Victor responded. "...Bingo. Looks like there WAS a file on something called 'K-294, v2.0', but it's not showing anymore."

"So, someone stole the hard copies, then deleted the saved files from Luthor's computer." Superman summarised, closing the file cabinet. "But what's the point? Luthor has a photographic memory. The only reason he even keeps files is in case he needs to show his plans to someone else."

Cyborg pulled out from the computer. "We'll know more once we find out whose fingerprints these are. All the evidence points to this person being the one who injected the liquid Kryptonite into Plasmus."

* * *

Kara Zor-El groaned, shoving against the colossal fist of the overgrown toy robot, keeping it from smashing down on her, while civilians on the side-walk ran and screamed. With big cousin Kal 'occupied' at the moment, someone had to take care of his usual duties. Save cats from trees, stop bank robbers, help grannies cross the road, etc. Naturally, Kara volunteered. Of course, while she knew the giant robots were a possibility, she hadn't really thought it would actually happen.

"Aww, why are you being so aggressive?" a little man in a plastic, doll-like mask asked, all the while operating the remote controls of the robot from a couple of yards away. "It just wants to give you a nice, big, robotic hug! Didn't you ever hug your toys as a little girl?"

"My toys didn't usually try to hug me back, Toyman...!" Kara replied between grunts. "And they didn't almost vaporise pedestrians!"

"They were just meanies!" Toyman argued. "You're not a meanie, are you, Supergirl?"

Kara growled. 'Supergirl'. That would be the first thing to go when she moved out and started operating on her own. Now, she didn't mind the 'girl' part, even though technically she was a young woman. She just didn't want to be Supergirl. Granted, it worked as a teenager, but now she was growing up, and getting ready to face the world on her own. This was the time she had to start making a name for herself, not just bumming off of Kal's.

Thankfully for Kara, these thoughts got her a little angry. And when she got angry, bad things happened to bad people. For you see, while Superman had far greater powers than her, with all his different kinds of vision, although she was finally getting a hang of the heat, and that his super breath could freeze instead of just blow people away, Supergirl had a single advantage: Her body absorbed yellow sunlight far quicker than his did, and when she started feeling angry, it could give extra power to what she could do. In other words, when she was ticked off, _**she was stronger than Superman**_.

With a feral roar, Kara yanked the steel fist clean off of the robot, then used it to smash one of its legs apart, knocking it down. Then, with enough force to crack the street beneath it, Kara punched the robot in the chest, causing it to split down the middle and fall to pieces. Not content with this, however, and not willing to risk it pulling itself together again, Supergirl fired heat vision into its metallic skull, melting it down.

"Noooo, not the Big Boy!" Toyman wailed, dropping the remote controls. "...You'll pay for that, Supergirl!"

Before Kara could even try to say "Don't call me Supergirl", she quickly found herself face to face with a model plane made of dynamite. It collided into her face, setting off a giant explosion, during which Toyman quickly got on his scooter and decided to make a break for it...Only to see a blue and red blur race past him and stop in his path, grabbing him by the collar and holding him in the air, his terrified eyes looking directly into her highly unamused eyes.

"You're lucky I promised my cousin never to kill any of you idiots," Kara threatened, albeit only to scare her foe, before levitating off the ground to fly Toyman to the nearest police station.

* * *

Kal-El looked up at the stars from atop the Daily Planet. He and Cyborg had left LexCorp Tower, having obtained the information they wanted, and decided it best to go over everything they found elsewhere. Still, something left the Man of Tomorrow confused, and he looked up to the stars, trying to find some sort of inspiration to figure it all out.

"...Something still feels off," Superman admitted, breaking the silence that had been present for several moments. "Those guards were paid off by somebody, and that somebody also managed to enter Lex's old office and steal the plans, which they somehow already knew about...This sounds like the work of an ally of Luthor's."

"Maybe he was lying to you?" Vic suggested.

"The thought occurred to me, but I'm pretty sure I'd be able to tell..." Superman insisted, getting a curious look from Cyborg. "...Look, when I say you're a good man, I don't just say that to encourage you. One of the last powers I obtained when I reached adulthood was a sort of Soul Vision."

Cyborg's jaw nearly hit the floor. "...Y-You can see souls?"

"I don't know if it's a person's soul, some sort of aura, or just a physical representation of their thoughts and feelings," Superman explained, "but I can tell a lot of things about someone from it. For example, not many people can lie to me, unless they have some sort of psionic ability that can block me out."

Cyborg shrugged, a panel on his arm opening to reveal a small disc. "Well, either way, the prints are on this disc. Think you know someone who can match those prints to the person they come from?"

Superman smirked as Vic handed him the disc. "I think I just might. What about you?"

"I'm...gonna go back to S.T.A.R. Labs," Cyborg replied with a sigh. "I guess I should at least try to talk to Dad. And hey, maybe I can get some more info on the Plasmus front."

The Man of Tomorrow reached into his belt and produced a small device on a wrist-strap. "Here. It's a signal watch. When you find anything, beep me."

Cyborg nodded, taking the device as Superman began to float away. "Got'cha...Hey, Supes?"

"Yes, Victor," Superman said with a smile. "It's still very much there..."

Victor grinned as Superman flew off. He looked down to his wrist as he strapped the signal watch on, only for wires and circuitry to suddenly leave his arm and assimilate the signal watch into his body, now giving him the ability to contact Superman whenever he wanted from wherever he wanted. Vic gave a little chuckle at this, then looked up at the moon, sighing contently.

"...Maybe there's worse things in life than being a Man of Steel," Cyborg admitted.

* * *

_**AUTHOR NOTES:**_ Okay, first off, I know that Supergirl's part in this probably felt like random filler, but just trust me, her being out doing Supes' job for a little while is gonna be relevant. Also, to clarify, I decided I wanted this version of Kara to still be discovering the depths of her powers while learning new ones, and as I alluded to before, WAY back in Chapter 01, she is in the process of eventually dropping the Supergirl name and becoming this Earth's version of Power Girl. As for her current attire, pretty much the same costume she wore after she returned to modern canon in Superman/Batman.

As for some other details, the Toyman in this fic is essentially the one from the Superman and Justice League animated series. Y'know, the one that was at first believed to have killed Superman in Hereafter, except it turned out he was in the future. Also, I know that Superman's 'soul vision' can get on some people's nerves, but honestly, I kinda like it. It's how he knows the kinds of people he can trust, and he can see when people are honest to goodness trying to be good people. Finally, if it isn't clear, the metal in Cyborg's body can pretty much transform itself into whatever gadgets or devices he needs when he needs them, with the only limitation being the amount of power he's currently got stored up. In other words, he can't make an atomic bomb or something like that. And yes, his title will be the Man of Steel, while Superman's is the Man of Tomorrow.

Anyway, I should probably point out, this is where things get to turn a little crazy. Up until now, the story has mostly been told from the perspectives of Superman and Cyborg. From here on out, the rest of the cast starts playing a more active role, and we'll be seeing a lot more characters enter the mix. So, be sure to check in for next chapter as Superman goes to visit an old friend for help, and the rest of the cast continues down their own routes that will eventually lead to the culprit. Ja né!


	6. Send Out The Clowns!

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

Lois Lane grumbled to herself, finishing typing up her report on the battle between Supergirl and Toyman that took place last night. Of course, she wasn't grumbling about that, rather that she had to make up an excuse for Clark while he was off following the bread crumb trail back to whoever broke Plasmus out to cause his havoc a couple of days ago. But, what made her feel even worse was that she was stuck on the sidelines without any chance to help him out while he was being the hero.

"So, Kent caught the flu, did he?" a gruff, overly-masculine, and annoying-as-hell-to-Lois'-ears voice asked. "And yet, you didn't catch it."

Lois frowned. "Have a problem with that, Lombard?"

Steve Lombard, sports-writer of the Daily Planet, simply shrugged and leaned in close. "Just wondering if that means you two are having any kinda problems. Clearly, you aren't 'transmitting' much to each other."

"Steve, help me out here," Lois said in a deadpan tone. "What three letters follow after L?"

Steve grinned. "...Well, in my dictionary, it's followed by O-V-E**E_E_**!"

Steve cried out, falling to his knees as a sharp pain was inflicted to an area he was all too fond of, Lois smirking as she went back to work. "Actually, I'm pretty sure it's B-O-W. And thank you, I feel much better now."

Lombard didn't reply, instead deciding to get back to his feet and excuse himself to the men's room. Jimmy Olsen passed by him as he made his exit, the young photographer shaking his head at the antics of the man who was supposed to be one of his seniors at the Planet.

"And he says I'M a loser..." Jimmy commented under his breath, walking over to Lois' cubicle. "...Sooo, I heard Supes was visiting Stryker's yesterday. You think He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is involved?"

Lois just looked at Jimmy oddly. "We're not allowed to say Luthor's name in this office?"

"...It was a Lord Voldemort reference," Olsen explained, to which Lois just rolled her eyes. "...What? They're both bald and evil."

"I don't think he's the one trying to kill Superman this time," Lois replied, "but I wouldn't put it past him to have some kind of involvement, even in that 'impenetrable' cell."

"So, let's do some sleuthing, find some clues, get some extensions on Doctor Evil's sentence," Jimmy suggested.

"Believe me, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for anything right now," Lois assured him. "In the meantime, something tells me Superman is seeking help from a pro..."

* * *

Gotham City. Something about it always made Superman's skin crawl slightly, as bad as he felt about that. After all, it wasn't like EVERYONE in Gotham was crazy, corrupt, or a casualty waiting to happen. There were good men and women working to make the city better, one in particular being the man he was coming to see in the first place. And, considering the signal in the sky, it probably wasn't going to be too hard to find him.

Sure enough, less than two minutes after entering the city's airspace, he found the Dark Knight in a construction site, fighting a half dozen goons in clown masks. The Jokerz, they called themselves. Inspired by one of Batman's first enemies, they usually caused trouble whenever he was in Arkham Asylum or went underground, though generally without his penchant for acid-filled pies to the face or lethal laughing gas, instead opting for more gang warfare.

Superman lowered himself down onto the high beams, getting a good seat for the fight. Knowing Bruce the way he did, he gathered he wouldn't want him getting in on the brawl, what with him being the quintessential loner hero. And as usual, the Caped Crusader seemed to be handling himself just fine...until Clark noticed a rather large clown with a steel hammer in place of his left hand charge him from behind. Knowing even Bruce couldn't react fast enough, Superman charged his heat vision and aimed straight for the hammer, only to watch as a Batclaw launched from the shadows beat him to the punch. Looking to the source, the Man of Tomorrow quickly spotted it: A boy in a red, yellow, and green garb, leaping over and knocking the goon at least twice his size out with a well-placed kick to the skull.

"Sorry I'm late, boss," Kal-El heard the boy say as he got back-to-back with Batman. "Got held up."

"Firebug or Riddler?" Batman asked as they prepared to fight the Jokerz again.

"WAY worse," the boy answered. "Algebra. I'd just as soon fight these guys."

Clark didn't know what was more surreal to him: The fact that Bruce Wayne, The Batman, was teaming with a child who could not possibly be any older than 15, or that following his explanation, Batman actually grinned a little. He was almost tempted to go down there and make sure Bruce wasn't being mind controlled somehow. He definitely didn't have time, however, as the Jokerz charged the two, who quickly went into action. The boy drew a pair of sticks from his belt and started flipping around with surprising agility, getting quick strikes in here and there. Batman, on the other hand, went right on the offensive, chopping his hand at joints and driving knees into guts.

Superman couldn't help but be impressed at their level of synchronism. Once only one clown was left, the two shot their Batclaws at each other, which connected together and launched the boy at the goon with a flying kick to the chest, Batman following it up with a blunt Batarang to the face. The last of the Jokerz went down with a thud, groaning in his half-conscious state.

"Whoo!" the boy cried. "Nothing like a pile of goons to cap off an awesome day."

"Don't use up too much of your energy, Robin," Batman advised. "The night's still young."

"...Man, you REALLY know how to take the fun out of a victory celebration..." the young hero, apparently named Robin, groaned. "...Eh, I guess you're right, though. This is the sixth time this week we've found Jokerz messing around."

"Sounds like a pattern to me."

Batman and Robin looked up as Superman floated down to them, finally deciding to reveal his presence now that the fight was over. The boy looked like his jaw was going to drop all the way through the Earth once he laid eyes on him, and his knees were shaking so much, Superman almost expected to feel the vibrations through the ground as he touched down.

"Oh my God," Robin yelled in increasing volume, "oh my God, oh my God! Oh my God! OH MY GOD! **OH MY GOD!**"

"We got it, Robin," Bruce groaned, burying his face in the palm of his hand. "You're showing your age, by the way. Or lack thereof."

"Sorry, sorry," Robin stammered. "Just, y'know, huge fan."

Batman shook his head, turning his attention to Clark. "It's not everyday you come to Gotham, Superman. What's the occasion?"

"Someone's trying to kill me," Superman explained. "Thought you could help. Still have every registered citizen of Metropolis' fingerprints on record?"

Batman cocked an eyebrow. "That's a bit different a request from you. I take it this person is serious?"

"They sent Plasmus to do the job a couple of days ago with liquidized Kryptonite," Superman went on, and could just tell by Bruce's eyes from behind those white lens that he'd shocked him.

"...The records are saved on the Bat-Computer," Batman replied, walking past the Man of Tomorrow. "Still remember the way to the cave?"

Clark smirked. "What, you think you're the only superhero with a photographic memory?"

* * *

"Are you INSANE?!" Silas yelled at his son. "Alright, I admit it, I gave you that advanced technology just in case you ever tried a stunt like you did with Plasmus again, but becoming a superhero?! This is going too far, Victor!"

Cyborg rolled his one good eye as he rummaged through the spare parts in S.T.A.R. Labs, his father continuing his rant in the background. It had only taken Victor a couple of hours after linking up with S.T.A.R. Labs' main computer before he recognized that, right around the time Plasmus had been broken out, several smaller divisions of S.T.A.R. Labs had been robbed. Minor tech and components on their own, but after researching how they worked, and taking into account that someone out there had liquid Kryptonite, it was clear they were just small parts of a potentially large and dangerous whole. As soon as he realised this, Cyborg decided it was time to arm up and go on the hunt, something which his father wasn't exactly handling well.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Professor Stone cried.

Victor groaned. "Yeah, Dad, my ears work just fine. You saw to that, remember?"

"Then listen to this: You went out and picked a fight with one supervillain one time, and look at what happened to you!" Silas pointed out.

"I'm aware of that, Dad," Cyborg countered.

"Then WHY?!" Silas demanded. "Why risk the life you have now?! And so soon after you almost lost it before?!"

Victor sighed, turning to face his father, taking notice of the tears streaming down his face. "...Dad. Before the other day, it didn't really hit me just how precious life actually is. But it wasn't just almost losing my life that made me realise it, it was when I saved lives."

"Superman can do that, he doesn't need you!" Silas insisted.

"But that's the rub, Dad," Cyborg countered, confusing the professor. "All those people he's always out to protect? The more he puts himself out there, the more he needs someone to watch his back."

"But why...why does it have to be you?" Silas asked.

"Because, in this big world of ours, there's MAYBE a handful of people who can," Victor declared. "I know you don't wanna lose me, Dad, but this is my choice. If you love me, if you want me to live, you'll help me."

Professor Stone removed his glasses, wiping his eyes before cleaning the lens. Placing them back on, he looked around the room at all the equipment and loose scraps of metal. Taking a deep breath, he looked to his son: His son, who was so strong, and so full of conviction at this point. Or, perhaps he always had been, and it took Silas, who felt like a fool at this point, until now to fully realise it. He wasn't a boy now. He was a Man of Steel.

"...What do you figure you'll need?" Silas inquired.

Vic thought about it for a moment, then let himself smirk. "...I'm gonna need my hammer back."

* * *

_**AUTHOR NOTES:**_ Okay, so for starters, this story takes place just a couple of months after Tales of the Caped Crusader, hence why Superman was unaware Batman had a partner: They don't talk much, and it hadn't reached his ears yet. Also, I kinda liked playing with the idea that Dick was secretly a Superman fanboy, especially considering where he later gets his second alias...but I'm getting ahead of myself. Oh, and yes, his OMG moment is based off of Eric Young and the most annoying 3 minutes in wrestling history. :P

As for the Jokerz, they're essentially a blend of the gang from Batman Beyond and Joker's usual henchmen. Trust me, you'll be seeing more of them in my future fics, including one in particular I was thinking of doing. ^_^

Finally, I should note that I was going for a blend of Steve Lombard's interpretations from All-Star Superman and Superman: Unbound. As a result, the version I'm going with is sort of the office bully who hits on Lois Lane and generally comes out looking like an idiot, but secretly desires to be like the heroes. In other words, he's Bulk & Skull. XD

Anyway, check in next time as Superman, Cyborg, and even Lex Luthor begin to figure out the true culprit behind everything. Ja né!


	7. A New Metal Low Part 1

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

Lex Luthor stared at the ceiling of his cell, arms crossed behind his head, going over one of the many plans he'd been working on prior to his arrest. He wanted to find some way to create a slow cure to cancer, a method of actually curing the disease, but over a long-term process. After all, curing cancer was a necessity for humanity's evolution, but why not make a profit off its erasure? Still, figuring it out was a slow process, even for him, but he was sure he could achieve his goal.

"Luthor!" Lex looked to the shield, seeing a guard standing behind it with chains. "You got a visitor."

Lex sat up, a bit surprised. "...If it's Superman again, I can do without, thank you."

The guard shook his head. "Not him. They say they're family."

Lex cocked an eyebrow. Members of his family hadn't been to see him in at least a year, and the last time one did, it ended with him telling them what to go do with themselves and heading back to his cell. Who would ever come to see him now?

* * *

"Anything for you, sir?"

Superman smiled at Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler and most loyal friend. "I'm fine, thank you."

Alfred simply nodded, returning to his work dusting. Clark was glad for Alfred, for a lot of reasons. If not for him, God knows how Bruce may have turned out. Then again, Alfred wasn't Batman's only support anymore, something Superman reminded himself of upon seeing the young crime-fighter, Robin, training on an obstacle course nearby. He seemed quite the natural acrobat, leaping hurdles and dodging automated Batarang launchers, all the while making it look quite easy. He didn't even really have an air of showing off, either, just that it came so naturally to him.

"...So, new sidekick," Superman said aloud, Batman searching the Bat-Computer's archived records he'd 'borrowed' from the Metropolis Police Department. "You're actually taking breaks between stopping crimes. Heck, if I recall, wasn't your suit black before, not dark blue?"

"Your point?" Batman asked.

"Just wondering what happened since the last time we saw each other," Clark answered.

Bruce sighed, looking back to the man he often-times begrudgingly called his friend. "...This crusade, it's my mission to see through, but if others are going to be stubborn enough to force their way into it, it's less time- and energy-consuming to let them."

Clark smirked. "In other words, you figured out you should actually let people help you when you need it."

"If that's how you want to interpret it," the Dark Knight muttered, looking back at the screen as Superman rolled his eyes. "...Hold on. I think I may have a match."

Superman looked. Sure enough, the recorded fingerprint Batman had pulled up looked like a match. Pulling the one Cyborg saved on the disc up and overlapping the two, it was confirmed: An exact match.

"So, who's our culprit?" Kal-El asked.

"You might not believe me when I tell you," the Caped Crusader replied.

Superman folded his arms. "Try me."

Batman simply shrugged, hitting a button and letting the owner of the fingerprint's profile appear on-screen, Superman's eyes widening. "...Her?"

* * *

Lex let out a small scoff, picking up the phone on his side of the private visitation booth. "So, it was you all along, wasn't it? I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. After all, this sort of endeavour is ridiculously out of your league."

The young woman on the other side of the glass just grinned evilly. "Well, you didn't see it coming, right? And neither did he. And by the time he figures it out, it'll be too late."

"You really believe you can kill him?" Luthor inquired, greatly amused. "You barely managed to build a decent hideout."

"I won't be needing it anymore," the young woman replied. "After all, I'm gonna be moving into your tower."

Lex's eye twitched, feeling a little anger well inside him. "...What."

"See, the thing is, you're old," the woman explained. "Like, REALLY old. Barely pre-mortem. And to be blunt, spending a couple of years rotting away in here is only making it worse. It'd almost be sad, if not for the fact that I'm kinda planning to take everything you've got. Like, out with the old, in with the new type of thing?"

"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" Lex demanded. "My lawyers-"

"Are now MY lawyers," the woman cut him off. "They recognize that you kinda screwed the pooch when you got kicked outta office and locked up here. But hey, you should be happy. I'm doing you a favour: I'm gonna make sure you outlive Superman. In fact, I've even arranged a HUGE public killing of the Man of Tomorrow...well, actually, tomorrow. And you'll get to see it all, since I know for a fact you've got a device stashed in your cell that lets you hack into television signals."

"You honestly think you can do it?" Luthor asked. "Even with my money and your watered-down version of my liquid Kryptonite plan, you can't possibly pull it off alone."

The young woman just giggled. "You think I'm alone? C'mon, you know me, when have I ever acted alone? I've got one of your former contacts helping me out. One of your top men, and believe me, he lives up to the title of 'top man'."

At this point, the vein in Lex's forehead looked ready to strike through the glass like a bolt of lightning, as he mentally ascertained the identity of the man she was referring to. Someone who shared many things with Lex, like a love of wealth and power, and a hatred for Superman. Someone who would like very much to bury the Last Son of Krypton face down. And, apparently, someone who, like Lex, had an affinity for betraying his comrades whenever it was convenient to him.

* * *

Kara floated down to the source of the disturbance. Sure enough, the small, rural area had been all but completely decimated, with only a couple of houses left standing. Much to Kara's horror, the ground was littered with bodies, and while she could tell that some were still alive, there were many that weren't so lucky. She knelt next to a farmer that was managing to cling to consciousness, gently holding his face.

"What happened here?" Kara asked. "Who did this to you?"

"...Rr..Rrrr..." the farmer groaned. "...Rrroobot. Came in...Was huge. Had these green hoses, and...and a face like a skull..."

"Where did it go?" Kara questioned.

The farmer winced slightly, then looked to Supergirl with a confused face. "...G...Go?"

Kara's eyes widened, as suddenly, her senses told her there was something very big behind her right now. Not caring how it sneaked behind her in the first place, she instead balled a fist and whipped around, looking to level it with a massive punch, only to be knocked aside by a green ooze that was shot from the monstrosity. She tumbled across the soil and rubble, gasping in pain as she eventually came to a stop. Clutching her arm, she found herself horrified to see that, yes, she was bleeding.

"...Kryptonite...?" Supergirl gasped, trying to wipe the green substance from her body.

Getting to her feet, Kara looked up in horror of her opponent. As the farmer had said, it was a huge grey robot, about 18 feet tall, with an almost skull-shaped head, and hoses attached to its arms that secreted the liquid Kryptonite. Suddenly, the chest opened up to reveal a man operating the robot inside some sort of cockpit, wearing the tattered remains of an army uniform that was ripped in the places where his rank insignia should have been. He smirked evilly at Supergirl, who glared back at him.

"John Corben!" Kara exclaimed, wincing as she clutched her arm. "So you're the one who had Plasmus attack Kal-El!"

Corben grinned. "I had my fair share of aid. Not that it would help to tell you about it. After all, you'll be dead in just a couple of minutes."

Kara growled, trying to summon up her strength, but the liquid Kryptonite was weakening her severely. Sure enough, she barely had anything in the tank as Corben resealed his cockpit and charged Supergirl, fists ready to pound her straight down into the Earth.

* * *

"So, you and Corben decided to team up to take on Superman AND me?" Lex summarised.

The woman opposite of him rolled her eyes. "As if. I mean, that's what HE thinks, sure. He's my fall guy. He's there to give me exactly what I want, when I want, and when he can't do that anymore...well, let's just say I left a little something special in the back of his cockpit. Hell, I might just press the button once he's done with Superman, just so I can finish taking over your criminal empire all by my lonesome."

Luthor frowned, sitting back in his seat and folding his hands. "...So, Superman will be dead, you'll have stolen everything I own, and the only ones that'll be left to link you to the crime will be a dead man and a man in prison...You know, perhaps I had you pegged wrong. It always felt like you never learned a damned thing from me, in all the years I tried to mould you into a young woman with aspirations of world domination. But, it would seem you've nearly mastered the long game of betrayal."

The Goth brunette with red and violet streaks shrugged, smirking deviously. "What can I say, Uncle Lex? There's a reason they call me 'Nasty'."

* * *

_**AUTHOR NOTES:**_ DUN DUN DUUUUUNN! Sorry this one is so short, but I wanted to get the reveal out of the way so the final battle can get ready to start. Also, I wanted to get Cyborg in on the fun for this chapter, but I just couldn't think of a way. Don't worry, though, he'll be getting plenty of action soon enough.

Regarding the villains, Nasthalthia is mostly based off of her All-Star Superman appearance and personality, albeit a bit more devious. Corben's interpretation is based loosely on his more modern versions, and his robot is basically a giant-sized version of his Metallo appearance from Justice League: Doom with giant hoses coming down his arms. So obviously, he isn't Metallo yet.

Anyway, check in next time as Kara tries to fight off Corben, all the while Nasthalthia begins preparing the final battle with Superman. Ja né!


	8. A New Metal Low Part 2

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

Kara growled, trying to summon up her strength, but the liquid Kryptonite was weakening her severely. Sure enough, she barely had anything in the tank as John Corben resealed the cockpit to his robot and charged Supergirl, fists ready to pound her straight down into the Earth. However, before he could connect, a figure in a hoodie and sweatpants charged in, slamming a VERY large sledgehammer into the robot's fist, the two shoving on each other hard. The figure glanced back for a moment, revealing himself to be an African-American teen.

"Supergirl, MOVE!" the boy yelled, not seeing the robot raise another hand, its palm opening to reveal a steel funnel.

"Look out!" Kara screamed, but too late, as the funnel let loose a stream of flames.

Supergirl was knocked across the ground for a few yards before coming to a stop. Thankfully, by this point, she'd managed to get the liquid Kryptonite off herself and was able to survive the flames, but she'd been unable to save the young man who came to her aid...However, on closer examination, it seemed he didn't need it, standing in the flames like it didn't bother him, even though his hoodie was burning.

"What the-?!" Corben exclaimed from inside the robot. "...What are you?!"

As if in response, the young man grabbed hold of his hoodie and tore it clean off, while also giving a wave of his hammer. This not only whipped the flames away, but revealed himself: A half man, half machine that looked armed to the teeth. He stared a hole through Corben's murderous machine, tightening his grip on his hammer.

"I'm Cyborg," he answered, "the Man of Steel!"

John Corben didn't reply with words, instead with action. The legs of his robot opened to reveal rocket launchers, each aimed at Cyborg. The Man of Steel set his hammer to his back, which formed clamps that kept it secure, before leaping back as the rockets fired. He quickly reformed his right arm into his sonic cannon, blowing apart the rockets before they could come near him. Cyborg landed on his feet again, and swiftly charged Corben, drawing his hammer.

"You're dead!" Corben yelled, the robot swinging a giant fist. The two swung their attacks at each other hard. However, just before they connected, Cyborg's hammer started to change, opening to unveil a sonic cannon of its own. He smirked as he could practically feel Corben start to try to pull back on his attack, albeit far too late.

"Booyah!" Cyborg cried, smashing the hammer into the steel fist of Corben's robot. The collision fired off the hammer's sonic cannon, shattering the arm clean off of the robot. Deciding the robot had taken too much damage, John activated the rockets in the robot's feet, lifting off immediately.

"Don't feel too proud of yourself!" Corben yelled over the loudspeaker as he fled. "This is simply a prototype of the real thing, which will crush you all!"

Cyborg gritted his teeth, helpless as he watched John Corben fly off. He looked over to Supergirl, who was still wounded, despite beginning to recover her powers. Deciding it was best to get her help from someone who actually knew her anatomy, he activated the signal watch he'd assimilated into his body, albeit with some slight modifications, then knelt to examine the wreckage of the robot's arm while he waited.

* * *

Lex tapped a finger on the table as he leaned back in his chair, contemplating everything his niece had just told him. The details of her plans, the methods she was planning to utilize, everything right down to the colour of the new drapes she was going to have put in his old office when she moved in. He had to admit, it was FAR more ambitious and evil than he'd ever given her credit for, especially the part about the pink drapes. And yet...

"...It's not going to work," Lex said, breaking the silence between the two.

Nasthalthia just scoffed. "Ugh, puh-lease! Of course it'll work! Were you even paying attention-"

"To your admittedly well-thought-out plans that I might've been proud to call my own once upon a time?" Lex asked. "Of course. But it still isn't going to work."

Nasty folded her arms, scowling. "And why the hell not?"

"For starters, you underestimate your opponent," Luthor counted off. "Second, you're cutting too many corners, using the liquid Kryptonite you've created. Third, your new meal ticket, while having his uses, is incapable of defeating Superman, no matter what kind of technology you've supplied him with. But all of that pales in comparison to the most important fact of all."

"And that is?!" Nasthalthia demanded, slamming her hands down on the table as her uncle smirked cockily at her.

"You can't kill Superman," Lex answered, "because **I'M** going to kill Superman. That honour is, and always has been, **MINE**. I've had much taken away from me, Nasthalthia. Too much, in fact. But no one, not my niece, not Brainiac, not even the devil himself, can take that honour away from me. _**I**_ will rip Superman's alien heart from his chest, and squeeze it until it pumps for the very last time."

Nasty was about to retort in anger, but stopped as she heard the door behind her open, a guard poking his head in. "Miss Luthor? Your time is up."

Nasthalthia nodded to the guard, taking one last look back at her uncle. "...Enjoy the rest of your stay here, Uncle Lex. When you finally get out, you're gonna find that a lot of things have changed."

Lex smirked, getting up from his seat as Nasty turned to leave. "...We'll see, dear niece. Oh, and tell John I said 'Hello'."

* * *

"I don't understand," Superman said. "Why would Nasthalthia steal from her own uncle?"

"Any chance it's a coup?" Batman suggested. "Luthor IS pretty useless to LexCorp behind bars."

"I never pegged her as being able to come up with a plan like that," Superman admitted. "Then again, she IS a Luthor, and-"

Superman stopped, hearing a high-pitched ringing. Looking around and stretching his senses, it didn't take long for him to realise it was coming from outside the cave, and despite it coming in small bursts, he managed to recognize it right away.

"...What do you hear?" Batman asked, recognizing what the Man of Tomorrow was trying to do.

"Its one of my signal watches," Superman explained, "but it's been altered...I think it's Morse code."

Batman cocked an eyebrow. "What's it saying?"

Superman listened intently until he was sure the transmission was skipping, then translated it in his head. "...'Civilians...Dead...Supergirl...Injured'!"

Batman turned to his computer, trying to tune into the frequency of the signal watch. "If someone's injured Supergirl, they might be working for Nasthalthia. I can pinpoint the site, but it'll take-"

Turning around, the Dark Knight found that Superman was gone, likely having flown off at super-speed. "...So THAT'S what that's like..."

* * *

Superman rocketed himself through the night sky, moving so fast he was almost scared he'd overshoot his mark. However, as he closed in on the location, a smoking suburb of Steel City, he saw the source: Victor, rummaging through scraps of metal, while Kara was down to a knee, and even from far off, his enhanced sight showed she was bleeding from the arm. Slowing himself down, he made his landing, albeit creating a tiny crater while doing so, and ran to where his cousin was.

"Kara!" Superman yelled, drawing closer. "Are you alright?!"

Kara nodded, Superman finally coming to a stop a foot away. "I'm alright, just a cut. It'll heal. Would've been worse if Cyborg hadn't shown up."

Hearing his name, Vic headed over to meet with the two. "Superman. I see the signal got your attention after all."

"What happened here?!" Superman demanded, aghast at all the devastation. "Who did this?!"

"It was Corben," Supergirl explained. "John Corben. He's got himself a new robot. I probably could've taken it, but it was packing some kinda liqu-"

"Liquid Kryptonite," Kal-El finished, Supergirl looking confused. "He must be working with Nasthalthia. So it IS a coup..."

"Whoa, whoa, time out," Victor stammered. "Lemme see if I got this right: Nasthalthia Luthor and John Corben are working together to kill you and take over LexCorp?"

Superman nodded. "But why this? Why reveal his weapon, just to kill all these innocent people?!"

"He said something about the robot being a prototype," Kara noted. "And it seemed pretty clear he was trying to kill me so I couldn't tell you what was going on."

Cyborg's eye widened as he figured it out. "This was just to flush out Supergirl and kill her, so that he could take Superman on one-on-one! And I bet'cha I know where he's planning the big event!"

Superman clenched a fist. "Metropolis. He's going to attack the city to draw me out."

"Kal, I know what you're thinking, and you can't take him on alone," Kara exclaimed. "If the thing that did all of this was just a prototype, you can't beat it on your own. He'll kill you."

Superman sighed, looking up to the night sky. "...I can't let him hurt or kill anymore people. I have to stop him."

"...I'll watch your back," Victor volunteered. "I managed to suss out a lot of what his robot could do, and while I was waitin' on ya, I scanned some components Corben 'left behind'. Now, the real deal's probably gonna be bigger and badder, but I can at least familiarize myself with the tech to find some kinda weak spot."

Superman nodded. Reaching down, he helped Kara up to her feet, and was about to go tend to the injured when he heard a beeping in his belt. Digging out a communicator, he held it to his ear and hit the button, letting the message through.

"Batman to Superman, come in," he heard Bruce bark over the comm.

"This is Superman," the Man of Tomorrow replied. "Go ahead."

"I've analysed the liquid Kryptonite you left me, and I think I may have found a flaw in the formula," the Dark Knight explained. "However, the material required to exploit it is rare. Only S.T.A.R. Labs has any of it. Think you could convince them to let you borrow some?"

Superman grinned, looking directly at Cyborg. "...Oh, I think that should be possible..."

* * *

John kicked the robot's powerless leg as it lay on the floor of the hangar. He'd managed to get it back to his hidden base, despite the severe damage it had taken, but it had run out just as it got there. Corben stared a hole through it, like he could tear its remaining arm off with his bare hands, he was so angry. Still, as angry as he was, he knew it would be nothing compared to...

"What in the _**HELL** _happened to the robot?!"

_Too late,_ Corben realised as he turned around. Sure enough, there was Nasty, stepping out of the elevator, with a contorted face to match her name. She stomped over to him with eyes so filled with anger, they could only remind John of one other human being on Earth.

"Supergirl had back-up," Corben explained. "Some arse named Cyborg. He's a dead man the next time I see-"

Corben was cut off as Nasthalthia Luthor slapped him hard across the face. "I don't wanna hear excuses! Supergirl is alive, and now Superman knows you're gunning for him, AND with what! And if this Cyborg is helping them, now you've got THREE targets to deal with instead of two!"

Corben scowled. "He might've brought down the prototype, but even three-on-one, they can't stop the real deal."

"Well, just to be sure, we're stepping up operations!" Nasty yelled. "We're not waiting, we're attacking Metropolis at 10 o'clock tomorrow! We can't give them time to find a weak-point!"

"Roger that," John said with a nod. "I'll kill them all."

Nasthalthia still wasn't convinced. "You'd better. If they get ahold of you and find out I was involved, EVERYTHING we've worked toward will be for nothing."

John smirked as he took a gentle hold of Nasty's chin. "You know me. I would never rat you out to those pansies...'Mistress Luthor'."

Nasthalthia's face went from angry to bliss-filled in an instant. Without warning, she drove Corben against the wrecked robot and kissed him hard, fireworks going off in her head. She finished by giving a small bite to his lip, drawing blood, and grinning with a predator's glare.

"You know how much I LOVE to hear you call me that," Nasty declared.

"We've still got some time before-" Corben started to say before getting clawed across the nose.

"Not tonight," Nasthalthia barked, getting off John and heading back to the elevator. "YOU have work to do, prepping the big boy. We'll scale the mountains of pleasure after you've painted Metropolis in Superman's blood."

Corben nodded obediently at Nasty before the elevator door shut. She then adjusted her collar slightly, rubbed down the goosebumps on her arm, and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small control panel, grinning evilly.

"...No, you won't rat me out, Johnny," she remarked to herself. "Because if you lose, the only mountains you'll be scaling will be in Hell."

* * *

Lois Lane sighed, turning on the lights to the kitchen. Despite how late it was getting, she was thirsty, and she knew if she didn't get some milk into her gut now, her stomach was never going to let her sleep. As she opened the door to the fridge, she felt a breeze come from behind her, and let herself smile in relief as she turned to face the source: Her love and hero.

"About time you got back," Lois said, getting out the milk. "Your side of the bed was getting a little cold."

"Sorry about that, but it took some doing to find the ones trying to kill me," Clark replied as he speed changed out of his suit.

Lois smirked, pouring herself a drink. "Sooo, got a plan for stopping them?"

Clark fidgeted slightly. "Pretty sure. The thing is, it depends on a few variables."

"Such as?" Lois asked, taking a sip.

"They're going to attack Metropolis tomorrow," Clark answered, getting a look of shock from Lois. "It could be as soon as tomorrow, and I have no way of locating them beforehand."

Lois' shoulders slumped. "...So, the only way to catch them is in the middle of the attack, whenever it comes."

"Unfortunately," Clark confirmed.

Lois finished her drink, placing the empty glass in the sink before turning back to Clark Kent and folding her arms. "And lemme guess, you want me to go visit my sister or your folks for a little while, right?"

"...Would that be the most terrible thing in the world, to ask you to sit this one out?" Clark asked, feeling defeated.

Lois smiled. "No, it would be incredibly sweet. But you know the answer to that: I'm staying right by your side until this is over."

Clark started to object, but Lois quickly walked over and cut him off with a kiss filled with undying love for him. After a few moments, she pulled back, caressed his cheek, and smiled with that confident smile that even Superman could melt in the face of.

"You have your place, Clark, and I have mine, which is wherever you are," Lois explained. "...Besides, you KNOW you always put on your best fights when I'm watching."

Clark's jaw dropped. "...Th-That is SO not true."

"Oh please, you KNOW you like to show off at least a little for me," Lois shot back with a giggle. "I know I would."

"...Well, now that you mention it, my old tights WOULD suit you a bit better," Clark joked.

Lois rolled her eyes. "...Clark, I'm not leaving you to fight whatever it is that's coming alone. And besides, it's my job, and that wouldn't change no matter what you did."

Clark sighed. "I know. It's one of the things I love about you...Although, if it helps at all, I won't be taking this one alone."

"Kara?" Lois asked. "Or Batman and Wonder Woman?"

Clark smirked. "Someone new. And you're going to get to report on his first major battle."

If Lois' eyes got any wider or brighter at that exact moment, they could be mistaken for stars. "...I have never loved you as much as I do at this moment."

* * *

_**AUTHOR NOTES:**_ ...Not much to say here, except check in next time as the battle between John Corben's robot and the combined might of Superman, Supergirl, and Cyborg is officially on!


	9. Tomorrow Part 1

**_DISCLAIMER:_ Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. ****This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

Despite being long after the morning rush hour and being an hour before lunch, 11 AM is still a busy time out in the streets of Metropolis. After all, it IS a city with a population of millions, and not all of them have the same time-table for their work schedule. So, on this day in central Metropolis, the most densely packed part of the city, there were still people in the streets making their way to work, be it walking on the sidewalks or getting themselves caught in traffic.

It's often-times a child that sees first. After all, they're the ones that are looking to the sky the most, usually out of boredom while their parents are taking them for walks. They'd be looking up, making patterns out of clouds, admiring the sun, or as is often the case in Metropolis, looking up to see if Superman flies past. As a result, the children are usually the first to see when trouble arrives in Metropolis.

Today would be no different, as a 7-year-old with red pigtails tugged on her mother's jacket, pointing to the sky. "Mommy, lookit! Up in the sky!"

"What is it, Tisha?" the mother asked, too busy to look. "A bird?"

"No, looks more like a plane," Tisha replied.

The mother finally looked, her eyes widening in horror at the object dropping toward the city. "...That's not a plane...!"

Sure enough, a little less than a kilometre away, the massive robot that was at least 60 feet tall came stomping down into the city streets with a thud that could be heard across town. It was completely grey, save for the green liquid Kryptonite flowing in the vein-like tubes across its body. Its skull-like head featured jaws that looked like they could munch through a half-ton truck with no difficulty. Its giant steel fists clenched hard, looking ready for a fight.

Knowing he'd need some extra assurance that the Man of Tomorrow would show, John Corben hit a button from inside the cockpit of the robot. Within moments, the shoulders of the robot opened to reveal an array of missiles that opened heavy fire on Metropolis, nearly blowing apart several nearby buildings. If the people weren't running in terror then, it was only because the destruction left them without legs to run on. Corben grinned, seeing the ruination all around him, knowing there was no way Superman could ignore such an attack.

"...Just a matter of time now," Corben said to himself, readying all weapons.

* * *

Clark's eyes widened in horror at the sight across town from his balcony. This robot was far bigger than the one Victor and Kara described, and looked to be packing far more destructive weaponry. Now it was attacking Metropolis, a city of 11,000,000 people. All those innocents, unable to defend themselves, just to get his attention. He couldn't help but feel his eyes turn slightly red with heat just looking at it, his fists clenching hard enough to crush a small moon.

"So, that's the death machine, huh?"

Clark turned to face Lois, who was standing in the doorway to their apartment with a pair of binoculars. She looked a bit nervous by the appearance of the robot, but managed to shrug it off upon facing Clark. Those eyes of his. Yes, they were filled with righteous fury, but underneath that, was sadness mixed with the desire, no, the NEED to protect the people of Metropolis. Even seeing the damaged buildings was enough to bring grief to him. That's how much he cared for this city.

"...Well?" Lois asked. "You know what you're going to do, so go do it."

Clark nodded as he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the emblem of the House of El on his costume underneath. "I know you won't leave, but keep your distance from that thing, and see if you can use that chopper you always hijack to get some people to safety."

"Hey, I'll have you know I didn't 'hijack' that helicopter," Lois retorted with a smirk. "It's a loaner. One of the many advantages of being an army brat."

Clark let himself smile a little before turning back to face the devastation down-town. With one swift movement, he tore his suit off, revealing his blue and red costume and cape. Then, with a speed matched by less than a handful of individuals on Earth, he rocketed himself from the balcony, making a B line for Corben's robot. With what few seconds he had before his arrival, though, he pulled out a communicator, holding it to his ear.

"Cyborg, what's your status?" Superman asked. "Is the package ready?"

"Should be, but we haven't had a chance to test it out!" Victor replied while huffing, clearly running from S.T.A.R. Labs to the site of the attack. "Guess this'll have to be the test!"

"What about Kara?" the Man of Tomorrow inquired.

"Last I saw her, she was in a medical bay," Vic explained, "but that was a couple of hours ago, so-"

"She's going after Corben's robot!" Superman interjected.

"...Yeah, that sounds like the most likely possibility," the Man of Steel agreed.

"No, I mean I can see her up ahead going after Corben's robot!" Kal-El yelled.

Sure enough, up ahead of Superman, Kara had managed to beat him to Corben. With a feral yell, she slammed a fist into the robot's skull, almost knocking it clean off its feet. The robot turned to face her, launched a half-dozen rockets at her, but lucky for her, Kal-El had managed to arrive, heat visioning them all to bits before taking a deep breath and blowing Corben's machine down, flat on its back with a massive thud.

"Nice timing, cousin!" Kara complimented.

Superman turned to face her. In his rush, he hadn't quite noticed, but she was wearing a VASTLY different costume. It was a white leotard of sorts, tight like spandex, only the material was the same light armour his costume was made of. She wore padded blue gloves and boots, a red belt, and a marvellous red cape. Less impressive to Clark, however, were the VERY high cut leg holes, and the opening on the chest area. Not too much that she'd be arrested for indecent exposure, mind you, just somewhat distressing for Kal-El to see on his cousin.

"...What...?" Superman stammered, Kara frowning in annoyance.

"Look, I'm really sorry, but I HAD to change costumes," Kara declared. "I can't just be Superman's kid cousin forever."

"I'm fine with that, but couldn't you have picked out a costume less...risqué?" Clark asked.

Kara just looked herself over and shrugged. "...What? It's not like I made it, it's female Kryptonian battle gear. Besides, it shows me for what I am: A strong, healthy woman who isn't ashamed of her form. I'm a walking, fighting, flying Power Girl."

Superman scratched the back of his head. "...Well, I suppose the lack of restriction probably DOES help in a fight-"

"Excuse me..."

Superman and the newly christened 'Power Girl' turned to face the giant steel fist of Corben's robot just as it slammed into them both, sending them crashing to the streets below. Clark groaned as he pulled himself from the ruined pavement, just in time to catch Corben shooting liquid Kryptonite through hoses protruding from the robot's fingers. Superman grabbed his cousin and quickly leaped out of the way of the sprays, the two landing on a nearby rooftop.

"It packs a wallop, and it's just barely slower than us," Power Girl observed, using her super-breath to blow away and deflect incoming missiles, sending them crashing into each other in mid-air. "One false move, and we're dead for sure. Any suggestions?"

"We can't continue this fight here in the city," Superman replied, using his x-ray vision on nearby buildings. "There are still people trying to escape, and this fight will only cause more damage. But there's no way we'll be able to carry him all the way out of the city."

Kara Zor-El growled out of frustration for a second before an idea hit. "...Hold on. Isn't there a park under construction that's completely sealed off and evacuated? And like, REALLY close to here?"

Kal-El smirked, getting out his communicator again. "Cyborg, where are you?"

"Not far from y'all!" Victor answered.

"We've got a plan," Superman explained as he and Power Girl flew off the rooftop to avoid more blasts of liquid Kryptonite. "Think you can help us force Corben's robot into Centennial Park?"

"Oh, I think I can swing that...!" Cyborg yelled, hanging up. Within moments of this, the Man of Steel could be seen leaping from a rooftop, drawing his sledgehammer as the actual hammer section suddenly expanded. Accompanied by the loud battle cry of "BOOYAH!", Cyborg slammed the massive hammer into the skull of Corben's robot, sending the giant crashing and sliding down the street. Then, before Corben could regain control and plant the robot's feet to the ground, Superman and Power Girl grabbed hold of the steel legs and flung it into the sky, landing with a horrible thwomp into the middle of the under-construction Centennial Park. The three heroes quickly entered the park themselves, Superman and Power Girl carrying Cyborg in before landing gently in the centre of the park.

"Think he might be down for the count?" Vic asked, just before having to shoot down an incoming rocket. "...Nevermind."

"We need to stop that thing, and that means getting in close," Superman exclaimed. "The dagger?"

Cyborg nodded, opening a panel on his hip to reveal a dagger holstered inside a hidden compartment. He pulled the dagger out, its light blue blade shining in the sunlight. Vic then turned to face Corben's robot as it got back to its feet, his one good eye narrowed.

"...Well, guess we're gonna find out if this really works or not in a second..." the Man of Steel commented.

Faster than anyone could say "Let's do this!", the three heroes found themselves running or flying out of the way of gallons of liquid Kryptonite and a barrage of rockets. Superman did his best to heat vision the rockets down, while Power Girl flung them into each other, all just to keep Cyborg clear of the attack. As he was getting close, however, the knees of the robot opened, revealing massive laser cannons. Seeing this just in the nick of time, Superman managed to fly down and take the intense blast, acting as a shield for Victor, who could only watch in horror as the Man of Tomorrow was blasted into the ground, but didn't stop. Leaping up and over the fallen hero, he reached his arm back before thrusting hard into a glowing green tube on the robot's body.

"What the-?!" Corben shrieked from inside the cockpit as the dagger began to break down in the robot's 'veins'. "...I don't know what you just did, but you're gonna pay for it!"

Cyborg barely managed to catch the giant steel foot that kicked out at him, but quickly found a metal fist coming down from above and smashing him into the ground below. Seeing both Superman and Cyborg down, Power Girl grit her teeth in anger and immediately flew down, feeling her hands heat up suddenly. With a yell that would make any human man scream "PANTS TO BE DARKENED!", she punched the robot's fist clean off, shattering it into pieces. Unfortunately, despite this small victory, Kara groaned as she felt herself start to lower toward the ground, her energy severely drained from that one punch.

"...That was a mistake...!" Corben yelled, firing a huge column of liquid Kryptonite into Power Girl and sending her crashing into a nearby tree, Superman watching helplessly as he pulled himself up.

"Kara!" Clark yelled, John Corben's robot looming over him.

"She was just for starters, Superman," Corben said with an evil sneer. "You're next, and I'm gonna enjoy every second of breaking you and leaving you buried in this park!"

* * *

_**AUTHOR NOTES:**_ ...What, you honestly didn't expect me to finish the final climactic battle in one chapter, did you? lol

Couple of things I wanna point out. Yes, "PANTS TO BE DARKENED!" was a Wonder Woman pilot reference, specifically from the review that Linkara, Nash, and Film Brain of Channel Awesome did. If you haven't seen it...well, I don't really wanna give context, since I'd rather you check it out yourselves. The other thing is, if the name 'Centennial Park' sounds familiar to you, that's where they buried Superman after Doomsday killed him in the comics. And no, that hasn't happened in the canon of my fanfics, I just thought it'd be cute that they took the fight there, especially given what Corben says at the end.

About Power Girl. As I mentioned before, this interpretation of Kara is still learning the true depths of her powers. She can tap into physical power that dwarfs Superman's, including a slightly modified version of Atom's atomic punch (albeit this one is powered by yellow sun energy and is not nuclear), but she doesn't have anywhere near the mastery he does over their other abilities, and using them wastes a LOT of energy. Also, her costume is the classic one first shown in All Star Comics #58, though slightly more detailed to look like some of the armoured costumes we've seen Superman in as of late.

...While we're on the subject, by the way, I would just like to define my opinion on Superman wearing armour: I'm fine with it, provided it actually looks like the Superman costume. After all, we've seen him fight opponents with access to one or more of his weaknesses. It only makes sense that he'd want more protection in case of such an event. Plus, while I'm aware that Superman's bio-electrical field surrounds his costume, thus generally protecting it from being torn to shreds in battles, there have been occasions where that didn't work out so well, so a more durable costume would make sense there...Anyway, mini-rant over. lol

Anyway, check in next time to see if Superman, Power Girl, and Cyborg can emerge victorious against John Corben. Ja né!


	10. Tomorrow Part 2

**_DISCLAIMER:_**** Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

* * *

"Miss Lane!" Jimmy Olsen cried from the seat next to Lois in the helicopter. "I don't suppose after this, we could land for a little bit?!"

Lois groaned, trying to keep the helicopter steady as people from the nearby burning building boarded. "Oh, would you quit being such a girl?!"

Of course, Lois Lane didn't REALLY feel like lashing out at him. It's just, here she was, away from the fight, trying her best to evacuate helpless civilians, and the best Jimmy could do to help was to scream in terror and occasionally throw up over the side of the chopper, which she was totally going to make him clean when this was over. Looking to the side, she saw a father and his daughter heading over, just as the flames were spreading closer.

"Hurry!" Lois yelled. "C'mon!"

The father quickly picked up his daughter and tossed her into the arms of the people in the helicopter. Before he could leap over, however, the floor beneath him started to give way. He jumped as best he could, but his legs were already buckling, causing him to come up very short of the chopper, falling to his death below...at least, he would have, if Jimmy hadn't managed to spot this and leaped out of his seat, jumping and grabbing the man's hand while the others in the helicopter got a death grip on him, pulling the two back into the chopper as Lois flew it away from the building.

"We're clear!" she shouted with a smile, proud of the young man she'd not a minute earlier called a girl. "That was awesome, Jimmy."

Jimmy nodded, looking paler and more ill than she'd ever seen him. "Thank you...I need to change my shorts now..."

* * *

"She was just for starters, Superman," Corben said with an evil sneer. "You're next, and I'm gonna enjoy every second of breaking you and leaving you buried in this park!"

Superman let out a low growl before rushing Corben's robot, slamming a fist in its head and causing it to cave in on itself. He was about to swing again when the machine's one remaining hand clapped down on the Man of Tomorrow, clenching him hard while letting loose liquid Kryptonite all over him. John Corben grinned evilly as he began to crush the Last Son of Krypton in his robot's fist.

"You wanna know something, Superman?!" Corben yelled, unable to control his glee. "There's not a day since I first met you, since you started busting up my operations, that I haven't dreamed of a day where you were lying stone dead in the ground! All of this, it's just for my own dream: A world without Superman!"

Corben laughed at the thought of his dream slowly becoming a reality, when suddenly, the robot began to detect intense heat coming from inside its hand, just as he heard a voice say "...Do you wanna know...what my dream is, John?"

John began to sweat as he put more power into the hand of the robot. However, it was too little, too late, as a pair of tiny holes began to appear in the back of its steel fist. Before long, the fingers began to be pushed apart, and he could see Superman dripping in liquid Kryptonite, and yet still fighting to free himself. Corben's jaw dropped, alerts going off as the joints in the robot's fingers began coming apart.

"**A world that doesn't _NEED_ Superman!**" the Man of Tomorrow yelled as, with one massive show of force, he shoved his arms and legs out, the robot's fingers breaking clean off and falling to the ground as Superman hovered in mid-air.

"Th-This is impossible!" Corben shrieked, backing away. "You should be dead! The Kryptonite should've sapped your strength enough that I could crush you into a pebble!"

Superman just grinned. "You can thank Cyborg. That was no ordinary dagger he stabbed your robot with."

Corben's eyes widened in horror as it suddenly hit him what had happened. "...Blue Kryptonite...!"

"Right on the money, bro," Vic groaned as he pulled himself out of the ground. "The same stuff that hurts the Bizarro Superman that Luthor created. But Batman did some research on it after that, and found out that blue Kryptonite has a counter-active agent to green Kryptonite. Usually ain't enough to have any kind of effect at all..."

"...But since you broke down most of the radioactive isotopes found in the green Kryptonite when you liquefied it, all it took was introducing a small sample of blue Kryptonite to break down the rest," Superman finished, "to the point where I barely even feel it, even when it's all around me."

Corben's teeth grit down hard on themselves in his rage, all the while Superman just smiled back. "...Oh, one other thing? It actually started just a few seconds after Cyborg stabbed the blade into the tubes, so..."

Corben was about to ask "So, what?" when he got his answer in the form of a red, white, and blue blur that shot out from the nearby trees and flew straight through the remaining arm of his robot. Just as he was about to turn and blast Power Girl with the machine's leg-mounted lasers, though, Superman froze them over with his super-breath, causing them to blast themselves apart. As its legs caved in on themselves, Corben watches as Cyborg stood below him, holding his hammer in both hands and smiling deviously.

"...No...!" John whimpered, knowing what was next.

"BOOYAH!" the Man of Steel yelled, slamming the torso of the robot through the air. As Corben tried to activate the emergency jets to escape, his eyes widened at the sight of Power Girl hovering ahead of him, kicking him straight up into the sky as more pieces of debris came off the robot. Finally, he managed to get the jets on, but far too late as, from above, Superman spiked him back down, crashing into the park.

Corben groaned in pain as what was left of the robot came to a halt, the front of the cockpit having come completely off. The screens were all either blank or covered in static, and he was getting nothing from the controls. Looking straight up through the hole in the front of the cockpit, facing skyward, he just sighed as Superman, Power Girl, and Cyborg all stood atop it, arms folded and waiting to see what he'd do next.

"...I don't suppose you'd be willing to call it a draw?" John asked.

* * *

Nasty scowled at the screen before her, which was capturing footage of the battle. Sure enough, the three superheroes had completely dismantled the robot, and John Corben was left defenceless. Despite his promises to her before, she knew she couldn't risk letting him squeal. So, with a sigh, she pulled out a small remote from her pocket.

"...It's really a shame," Nasthalthia admitted to herself. "I really DID like the way he called me 'Mistress Luthor', and he was almost a half-decent stooge."

Nasty gave a small kiss to two fingers before tracing them across his cheek on the screen. "Goodbye, Johnny. Your side of the bed will miss you."

* * *

"I bet when you were getting up this morning, you weren't really thinking about spending lunch in a cell, were ya?" Cyborg joked as Corben lay helpless in his cockpit. "Well, what do ya say we get the man in the steel box a-"

Suddenly, Victor was cut off by Superman suddenly lunging forward. Before Cyborg could completely register what was going on, a huge explosion knocked him and Power Girl a few yards away, the wreckage of the robot going up in smoke and flame. Cyborg groaned as he get back to his feet and stared in horror of the ball of flames on the ground ahead.

"SUPERMAN!" he yelled desperately. "CORBEN!"

A few moments passed with no reply. Just as Cyborg and Power Girl ran forward, ready to deal with the flames, the Man of Tomorrow dove out, his cape surrounding himself. Kara sighed in relief, though she wasn't sure why. As if a mere man-made explosion could kill Superman. And yet, the randomness of it...and it was then that she realised what she should REALLY be afraid of.

"Corben!" she cried. "Is he...?"

Superman pulled his cape back, revealing John Corben's half-conscious form cradled in his arms. "He'll live. Lucky I saw the energy build-up in the back of his cockpit."

"The hell was that?" Cyborg demanded. "A bomb?"

Kal-El nodded, setting John on the ground. "I'm pretty sure it was remote-activated."

"Nasthalthia," Power Girl growled.

"Where is she, Corben?" Superman asked. "You don't owe her anything after this."

Corben looked away, his eyes reflecting the anger, confusion, and abandonment swirling in his heart. "...An abandoned Ferris Aircraft hangar, 8 miles north of Metropolis."

"Watch him," Clark said before taking off, flying at top speed for the hangar.

Corben just laid on the ground, eyes narrowed. "...I wish he'd just kill her. Her and her decrepit uncle...Why does he always save the bad guys? Why does he save me over and over?"

Cyborg shook his head, hearing the sounds of sirens in the distance getting closer. "I suppose you wouldn't get it. Sure, he knows you'll just find a way to break out and try to off him again, but killing you would go against everything he stands for, and his dream for the future."

Corben just looked even more confused, so Victor explained. "He meant what he said earlier. His dream is for a world that doesn't need Superman. A world without war, or poverty, or disease. A world where people have learned to work together for a better future. But most people ready for that yet. They need someone to show them the way, to be an example of what we could be. 'The Man of Tomorrow'."

* * *

Nasty growled as she waited for the elevator to take her to the basement. Luckily for her, Ferris Aircraft had equipped all their hangars with subterranean escape pods of sorts, in case of emergencies. She barely had time to grab what things she could and head straight down, and as it was, the elevator was taking far too long. Finally, after a few moments, the lift came to a halt, the doors opening to let Nasthalthia off...running smack-dab into the red S of Superman's chest, who stared down at the girl as she glanced up nervously at him.

"Eheh, any chance you feel like letting poor, defenceless, little-old-me go, Mister Superman?" Nasty asked, putting on her best pouty-yet-alluring face.

Superman smirked. "...Oh, don't worry, Miss Luthor. I think I know a good, safe place to drop you off at..."

* * *

Nasthalthia Luthor grumbled as she sat on the edge of her prison bed. She wanted to yell and scream, but she'd already done that all the way into Stryker's, and her throat still felt a little hoarse, even a day later. She just stared ahead, at the prison cell across the hall from her, at the bald man staring back at her with a cocky grin stretched across his face.

"...What..." she muttered, knowing full well her uncle Lex could hear her.

"Oh, nothing much," Luthor replied. "Just wondering what my former lawyers are planning to do, now that their golden child has been locked away in here with me."

Nasty huffed, looking away. "Yeah, keep joking, Unck. By the time either of us gets outta here, they'll probably be liquidizing the company and taking what they can for themselves..."

Lex just shrugged, laying back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with the same smile. Nasthalthia growled, laying back on her own bed, silently contemplating how to get out of Stryker's and take her revenge on Superman, Power Girl, and Cyborg. Little did she know, in Lex's mind, he had very different thoughts going on...Thoughts that were being transmitted outside of the cell.

_That was excellent work, boosting the signal to the bomb,_ Luthor said with his thoughts. _It made the energy build-up impossible for Superman to miss._

_So glad you approve,_ he heard back in his mind. _Still, I am confused. Why save John Corben? Why help your enemy? OUR enemy?_

_To wipe the field of all other contenders, of course,_ Lex responded, crossing his arms behind his back. _When we're ready to make our move, when there's no one that can get in our way, and when Superman least suspects it, he will die by my hands...as it was **ALWAYS** meant to be._

* * *

_**AUTHOR NOTES:**_ DUN DUN DUUU-Oh wait, I did that once already this fic. lol Anyway, not much to say except to be sure you check in next time for the epilogue, as more fall-out is given that'll tie-in with other stories of mine. Ja né!


	11. Epilogue

**_DISCLAIMER:_**** Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cyborg was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. I do not own any of the main characters involved in this story. This story exists in my own fan-made continuity and should not be considered to be part of any already defined by the comics, television series, or movies, though it takes cues from other established continuities created for Superman and Teen Titans. Also, elements of Cyborg's back-story in this fanfiction are borrowed by the character Steel, created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove.**

And, since this is the last chapter...

**_REVIEW REPLIES:_ N. Harmonik - **Well, Lex COULD have let Corben die, but he needed his confessional to prove Nasthalthia's involvement. After all, the only other individuals that know are Lex himself (who they aren't likely to believe), and Superman and the others (who, let's face it, obtained the evidence through methods that Nasthalthia's lawyers could EASILY declare as being illegal).

* * *

"_**GREAT CAESER'S GHOST!**_"

Lois Lane rolled her eyes as she heard Perry White yell out from his office, albeit with an almost uncharacteristically happy tone. "Have you seen the sales figures for yesterday's issue?! 'An Inside Scoop on Cyborg, The Man of Steel'! People are buying the hell outta it!"

"You're welcome, Chief!" Lois called over with a smile. "Just doing my job!"

"By the way, where the hell is Kent?!" Perry demanded. "Is he still sick with the flu?!"

"Actually, he's following up on some rumours he heard," Lois noted. "Should be a HUGE scoop if he hits gold with this one."

"Yeah, well, tell him to make sure it's worth it!" White ordered, heading back to his office. "And DON'T CALL ME CHIEF!"

Lois had to stifle a giggle as she went back to typing. After a few moments, she felt a figure behind her. She turned, preparing herself for another round with Steve Lombard, but found herself pleasantly surprised, albeit a little confused, to find Jimmy Olsen standing there instead.

"Something up, Jimmy?" she asked.

Jimmy scratched the back of his head. "Nah...Well, yeah, I guess a couple of...I was just wondering, this Cyborg guy, he seems even more like an ordinary guy than Superman is, but he's a superhero."

Lois shrugged. "Is that a problem?"

"N-No!" James exclaimed, taking a seat. "I mean, it's probably a good thing. It's just...well, I think about how guys like him can become heroes, and..."

Lois smiled sympathetically. "Jimmy, not everybody is meant to go out and fight bad guys."

"I know, but it always bugs me how we're on the sidelines when Superman is going out and being a hero," Jimmy admitted, frowning sadly. "Doesn't it bother you?"

Lois sighed, thinking back. "...It used to. Not just being stuck on the sidelines, but having to be rescued one or two...hundred times."

Jimmy giggled a little, before shutting himself up to let Lois continue. "After a while, though, I realised there were other things I can do to help Superman and the people of Metropolis. I can get the word out about what's really going on, or give emotional support wherever I can, or get people to safety when there's an emergency. Y'know, like we did in the chopper?"

Jimmy groaned as he felt his stomach lurch. "Please...don't remind me of that...I finally stopped throwing up when I think about the helicopter...ugh, shaking so hard..."

Lois patted James on the shoulder. "Hey, you did great back there...and I'm sorry about what I said."

"Nah, it's cool," Jimmy replied. "I really SHOULD try to stay calm in emergencies. Heck, it's not the first time we've done something like that, and it probably won't be the last."

"Anyway, the point is, we all have our own ways of helping out," Lois went on. "Besides, I don't think you'd wanna go through the process of being turned into a cyborg."

Jimmy made a quick yuck face before moving on. "But man, Clark's gonna have some pressure to find a bigger scoop than your look at Cyborg."

Lois smiled, turning back to her computer. "...Well, you never know, Jimmy..."

* * *

Batman squinted as he looked through his microscope at the liquid Kryptonite sample that Superman had left him, looking over its flaws. As usual, Clark had wanted him to see exactly how it worked, what went wrong in its design, and if it could ever be perfected to be used against him. Not that Clark couldn't figure it out for himself, mind you, just that Batman had the equipment on hand and the time to use it. Superman, on the other hand, could be needed at any given time in any part of the world. You never knew where he'd be from one moment to the next.

"Any luck with it?"

Batman sighed, looking away from the scope to face the Man of Tomorrow. "...You could at least call ahead. And no, nothing yet. I'll keep you posted."

Superman nodded. "I know you will, Bruce."

"...So then, why did you bother coming over?" the Dark Knight asked.

Clark folded his arms, deep in thought. "...This was twice now I wasn't able to handle a situation on my own. Criminals are getting more dangerous. Even you've teamed up with a full-time partner."

"It's nothing we can't handle," Bruce replied dismissively.

"Granted, but I think there's a bigger issue as a result," Superman explained. "More heroes are showing up in the world. Cyborg. Power Girl. Robin. Heck, I heard a rumour about a group of women on the west coast fighting criminals."

Batman nodded. "I know. I've been monitoring them."

"It's becoming like the old days," Clark observed. "The days of the JSA. Except we aren't in an organized group of any kind, which could be a problem."

Bruce narrowed his eyes. "...If you're thinking about restarting the Justice Society..."

Clark shook his head. "Maybe not the Justice Society of America. Not exactly. Still, it might not be such a bad idea to create some kind of League..."

* * *

Victor looked over the diagnostics on his body being given by one of the many scanning devices in S.T.A.R. Labs. It seemed all of the upgrades he gave himself going into the fight with Corben's robot worked perfectly. Still, he knew that if he was going to continue this line of work, being a superhero, he was going to have to keep his systems up to date and well-maintained. Not to mention he needed to make sure what human parts he had left needed to stay in shape to keep up.

"Well, guess I should probably hit the gym or somethin'," Vic commented as he unplugged himself from the scanner. "...Damn, I'm probably gonna have to upgrade THAT, too..."

"I could think of a few things you could do to keep it up to date..."

Cyborg turned to face the one speaking on the other side of the room. He hadn't seen him enter, and his scanners hadn't detected him either, which was VERY odd. He was a man, probably in his mid to late 30s, dressed in a light brown fedora and trench-coat. At least, that's how he appeared to Victor's human eye. To his cybernetic eye, he saw a very different image. One of a bizarre green form.

"Who are you?" Victor demanded, readying his sonic cannon. "How'd you get in here?"

"I am not your enemy," the figure assured Vic. "I know that you can see my true form, but I am barred from reverting to it. My name is J'onn J'onzz. I am an alien."

"Yeah, I can kinda tell that," Cyborg remarked. "What do you want?"

J'onn's eyes narrowed. "I came to warn you. A great threat to this planet has arrived. It is only a matter of time before the world is going to need heroes."

"Then why you comin' to me?" Cyborg inquired. "You need to get on the horn to Superma-"

"I intend to," J'onn cut him off, "but he alone is not enough to stop this threat. In the meantime, I need you to locate another hero who will be needed. He might be the key to solving this dilemma."

Cyborg thought for a moment. He looked back to his sonic cannon, which was locked onto the alien standing before him. He had no reason to trust this person, and yet for some reason...

"...What's his name?" Vic asked.

"His name is Wallace West," J'onn explained. "However, you might know him better as The Flash."

* * *

**_AUTHOR'S NOTES:_** So, if you haven't guessed, J'onn will be continuing his little quest to bring together heroes in my upcoming fanfiction. One is the Will & Hope one-shot I've planned to do for a while now, and the other is my next major fanfic. If you've read my blog, you'd know it is entitled Birds of Prey: Dark, and is something of a blend of Birds of Prey, Justice League Dark, and Teen Titans. Also, it doesn't have a planned ending, So, as you can tell, this is one big universe I'm building with my DC related fanfiction.

As for the upcoming story where the Justice League is formed, I will say this much: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg, Lex Luthor, and a classic Justice League villain will all play a role. There will be others involved too, but I'm just saying those ones for now. In addition to that, however, there'll be a short fanfic that'll cover a lot of the other details going on in this world I'm crafting, and will shed some light on what occurred prior to this story, involving Luthor losing his presidency and the Trinity being accepted as superheroes by the world.


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